


Take Me to the Stars

by Ablissa



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, Character Study, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Hurt, Infatuation, Love, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-21
Updated: 2014-06-01
Packaged: 2018-01-02 05:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 79,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1053201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ablissa/pseuds/Ablissa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[THIS STORY IS ON HIATUS] Her life was dull. Very dull. Future heiress to the extensive Vitex fortune, Rose Tyler had no hope for a life of her own. Not until she met the Doctor, a mad man with some delightfully great hair, a man who waltzed straight into her life and made a right mess out of it, showing her that just one day is enough to change everything. // Ten/Rose multichapter AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Doctor

Blonde hair, brown eyes, a pair of navy blue jeans and a black top. Her name is Rose Tyler, and her life used to be perfectly ordinary. Nothing ever happened. Not a thing. It's not that she hated her life, no, but she didn't exactly  _love_  it either. It was perfectly normal, like millions of other lives in all corners of the globe. And it was rather  _dull_.

Dull and uneventful. Up until that day. The day that seemed to be just like any other day back then, but in retrospective, it turned out to be the beginning of something she's never imagined to be possible.

How did it all start? Well, it started on a Friday. Seven AM. Waking up to go to work. She doesn't have to work, not really, 'cos her dad is really well off and they live a decent life. They're not like one of those posh celebrity kind of people, mind you, even though her mum would love it if they were. They're just rich, just another family in which the owner of a large company is the only bread winner. And sure, her parents had their circle of friends and people that her mum, Jackie, insisted they have to keep on good terms with just 'cause it's good for their reputation and such, but her dad, Pete, he's more of an ordinary, good natured but simple sort of bloke. He likes a nice football match on the telly and a cold bottle of beer after he gets home from work, not all these snobbish parties that his wife always tries to drag him to.

And Rose? Rose is somewhere in between. She doesn't mind a good party, but the parties her parents tend to attend are hardly any good, and she usually likes to stay in.

Anyway, back on track. Rose doesn't have to work, but she still does. She doesn't have her A levels because of a really stupid stunt with a certain Jimmy Stone (she still beats herself up over being so deluded and blinded) and her self-esteem is down in the dirt, because let's face it, you  _need_  that piece of paper to get anywhere in life. Or at least it helps  _a lot_. Although it's a little different with Rose, because she just happens to be the only heiress to the large Vitex fortune that her father has built over the years.

Starting off with healthy drinks he expanded into diet food and finally energy products tailored especially for very active sportsmen, and now, he was the head of a little empire known all over Great Britain as the most accessible bottle of pop that wasn't as unhealthy as regular soda. Brilliant, yeah?

Not so brilliant for Rose, because she wanted to make her own way in the world, not just end up with a job at Vitex somewhere down the road, a job she'd be offered only because she happens to be the only daughter of the CEO, Peter Tyler.

In truth, despite only being twenty-one, she already knew that this kind of work would just not suit her. She hasn't had much of an interest in business of that sort, and she really just wanted to find her own way through life. She wanted to see the world, to meet all sorts of people, to build something from scratch that she could truly call her own, just like her dad did.

So, she worked in a shop. A clothing store. Great way to build your own life, eh? Her mum kept rattling on about it, how she ought to aim for a proper job, but Rose didn't pay it much mind, and her dad settled for showing her the ropes around Vitex once or twice a week whilst she kept on working the single most dull job on the planet, all out of her own choice.

At least she was doing something for herself in a way. That was Rose's only consolation as she made it through a long line of grumpy customers, a fit from her nightmare of a boss and another angry look from her ex-boyfriend, Mickey. Mickey lived near the store she worked in and she always bumped into him here and there. It's almost as if he  _tries_  to make them bump into each other, but Rose hopes that's not how it is. They've been broken up for months and she wished that Mickey would accept it, for his own sake if not for hers.

Speaking of consolations, there was one more.  _Friday_! No business lectures from her good ol' Dad and no work tomorrow. Rose wasn't one to sulk for too long, so even though her work day has been rather lousy, she cheers up by the time she gets off the bus and makes her way towards their house in the suburbs. Bit too fancy for her liking, really, but her mum likes that sort of thing, a house with a few rooms too many, marble floors in the hall and gold linings on the bathroom mirrors, all of it just screaming  _rich_. And just the three of them to live in that big, posh house, just three people to fill up the luxury rooms, halls and bathrooms.

Rose understands her mum, in a way. Both of Rose's parents were rather poor up until Pete's company suddenly began to prosper. Of course they wanted to enjoy it.

Tradition in the Tyler residence was that they'd have a family dinner every Friday. Not the worst and not the best thing in the world, really. Rose loves her parents, loves their virtues and their flaws, all the while remaining painfully aware of both. She sometimes thinks back and realizes that despite the mess she's made of her life, she has been very lucky. Her parents loved her, she had a lot of freedom, she didn't have to worry about money. She had a family, a proper family, with a mum who was a housewife and a dad who spoiled them both to bits.

And to think that if things ended up differently, she may have never really gotten to know her father.

Why, you may ask? Well, he almost died in a car accident when she was just a few months old. Some reckless bloke almost drove right over him, but a blonde girl pushed Pete out of the way just in time, waited with him until an ambulance arrived and then just vanished into thin air, holding hands with this tall man in a long coat.

Her mum told her that story a million times, but Rose never grew tired of hearing it, silently thanking that mysterious blonde girl whenever she thought of her father.

As she makes her way into the dining room (all shiny and new after being renovated recently), her thoughts fly back to the present and she smiles. Never one to sulk for too long, Rose decides to focus on the fact that at least it's weekend. God bless weekends!

Her dad, Pete, is already sitting at the table as her mum sets down the plates. Rose helps her out and they start eating, sharing tiny little details from their day, but Rose barely says a word. What's there to say? Her days consisted of a long line of boredom. It's not like anything  _thrilling_  ever happens to her, is it?

"I hired a new man today," Pete says after taking a sip of his favorite beer, "Doctor John Smith. He insists on just being called  _the Doctor_ , though. Odd bloke, but I'll be damned if he's not a genius of some sort!"

"Why's that, then?" Rose asks with moderate interest. Her father rarely mentioned his new employees, and a quick look at him tells her that he is most impressed with this particular one.

"Brilliant references. He's even got papers from the Queen herself! And he figured out the formulae for  _all_  of our upcoming products in less than three minutes," Pete shakes his head in disbelief.

"That's no good though, isn't it? I mean, if some random bloke can jus' walk right in and figure out what it is that you're selling?"

Rose's father smiles at her proudly, taking note of what she always claimed she was not. She's  _clever_ , his clever little girl, and no matter where she ends up in life, Pete will always feel proud of her.

"Yeah, 'course it is, love. But he's workin' for me, innit? Already got him fixing up all the machines and so on."

"So what is he, then? An engineer?"

"Sort of. I don't actually know. He's just waltzed into my office, hands in his pockets, and said that he wants to work for me."

"And your security's not done anythin' about it? Pete, I swear you're just payin' these men for watchin' the telly!" Jackie rants, but her husband just smirks at her.

"And then?" Rose prompts, also taking no note of her mum, finding herself more and more interested in this new employee of her dad's.

"Then, he says:  _I'm the Doctor! You may be wondering why I'm here? Weeell, your top engineer just so happened to win the lottery last night. Brilliant, isn't it? Good ol' chap! Anyway, I can be an engineer. Or a scientist. Or a history teacher. Or a cleaning lady. Wait, no, I'm not doing_ that _again. No chance! But, I can most definitely do engineering and... And things. Yup._ " At this, Pete bursts out into laughter, quickly followed by Rose. She cannot even imagine a man behaving in such a way, but her dad doesn't seem to be joking. "So at first I go to call the security, but then he goes on about all these things that only a genius would know, physics and things, I don't even know what, and then he shows me his references, and well... I thought, why the hell not?"

Jackie shakes her head, but before she gets a word in, Rose asks:

"So what's he look like, then? Is he some sort of a shady criminal? Sure sounds like it," she flashes her trademark tongue-touched smile as she goes to collect their plates for washing up.

"Oh, he's quite a looker, that one. My secretary was all over him," he responds with a grin, "You'll see him on Monday. You'll come in the morning, won't you?"

Her smile fades as she nods, "Yeah, 'course I'm coming in."

Of course she would. After all, this is her life. Working a dull job to save the last bits of her dignity and then helping out at Vitex in preparation for a future she really, really didn't want to end up living through, but would most likely have to.

Oddly enough, she finds herself thinking of the strange Doctor John Smith right before she drifts off to sleep that night, but the next day he slips away from her mind. Everything is back to normal.

However unappealing that  _normal_  may be.

**~oOo~**

It wasn't until Monday that Rose thought of the man who wanted to be called  _the Doctor_  again as she made her way to the Vitex headquarters in the morning. She's working the second shift today, and she dedicates every Monday and Wednesday morning to visit her Dad at work and allow him to show her the ropes around the company.

Rose knew that her father liked when she at least pretended to take an interest in Vitex, and she doesn't have the heart to say no. 'sides, she would most probably end up working there in the end, so why fight the inevitable?

With a sigh she waited for the lift that would take her to the uppermost floor where her father's office was. Many thoughts ran through her head and not one of them was pleasant, meeting the mysterious Doctor being her only consolation. Although, knowing the way her life usually goes, the man would probably turn out to be a balding, middle-aged freak. Her dad did say that  _he's a looker_ , but it's not like her good old dad has a remarkable taste in men, now is it?

Not that Rose cared whether her father's new employee would turn out to be attractive or not. Obviously she liked a good looking bloke just as much as the next girl, but she paid more attention to their personality, and it's not like she and him would-

"Oh, hello! Blimey, the lift here is a tad shabby, isn't it? Slow and all shaky, that thing. It's almost as if it would snap and fall right down! Mind you, that doesn't happen all  _too_  often, but it  _can_  happen, and it'd be rather  _inconvenient_ if it happened today of all days, because, weeell, problems don't solve themselves, do they? No time to waste! Right, yes, I got a little sidetracked, didn't I? Hello!"

Rose raised her eyes from the ground with a small frown and slowly eyed the man that entered the lift. Funny, she didn't even notice that the lift had stopped, but it wasn't her floor yet. Staring him up and down, she noted that he was slim, tall, had some  _really_  great, all sorts of messy hair and a nice set of chocolate brown eyes. Older than her, but by no means old, maybe thirty-something. Wearing a red tie, white shirt, blue pinstriped suit and a brown coat on top of that, he was quite the sight for her tired eyes (she stayed up much too late on Sunday, leaving her in a half awake state Monday morning), so she managed a smile even though she found his little greeting rather odd.

"Um, yeah, hello?" Her response came out more as a question than a statement, mostly because she wasn't sure if she should even address his little speech or not. Choosing not to, she glued her eyes to the screen that displayed the number of the floor they were currently on. Eight, nine, ten...

Ten...

Ten...

Nine? But they were supposed to be going up!

The man in the coat hummed to himself happily for a brief moment before noticing that the lift begun moving down instead of up.

"Oh, no you  _don't_! Really? REALLY? Why do I  _always_  have to be right! Tiresome, that," the man grumbled as he pulled out a strange, metallic...  _Thing_  out of his pocket and started buzzing around the elevator with it as if trying to scan something. An expression of annoyance crept up on his face, but Rose found herself distracted from the events as the tip of his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth. Why was she even distracted? Sure, he's fairly good looking, but it's not like he's the most handsome bloke in the world. 'sides, he seems a bit weird, doesn't he? Mental, sort of. Talkin' to himself and so on... As if on cue to prove her right, he spun around, still making noise with that  _thing_  of his, suddenly dropping down to his knees to scan the floor, then standing up again and shifting his focus to the walls.

"Trajectory changers," he mumbled without looking at Rose, studying the control panel as if it was a miracle of some sort, carefully examining the different buttons. "Right, so, news! This, this lift-not the safest place in the world, not in the least. I said so right away, didn't I? So, I think the sensible thing to do would be to, weeell, make our exit. As in, leg it out the top and climb up. Right about," with that, he pulled up his sleeve to check the time, "Err,  _now_?"

"What're you on about, mate? Jus' press the alarm button, yeah? They'll send someone right in." She dismissed with a smirk, unsure if she was more annoyed or amused at his antics.

"No, you see, you don't understand. Check what floor we're on."

With a confused frown, she obeyed and found the display claiming that they were on floor -917. She chuckled, now completely convinced that her co-passenger must be slightly mad, and then said, "Yeah. Think the old thing's completely broken. I'll just..." she trailed off and went to press the alarm button.

The strange man surged towards her and grabbed her wrist just as she pushed the button and the alarm blared in their ears. A strange electric current ran through her body, emanating from the place where his fingers somewhat forcefully encircled her naked wrist. For a second she stood there perplexed and unmoving, but soon she snapped her arm out and moved as far away from the stranger as the limited amount of space allowed.

"Oi! Watch it! What's your  _problem_ , then?" She cried a little more harshly than she intended, eyeing him up and down. What if he's dangerous? What is going on here? She'll just call her dad, he'll go and get them out in no time, but... But what is  _up_  with this guy?

He stood there, the hand that he touched her with turned palm up as he stared at it, mouth slightly agape. He then turned to look at her, seemingly confused and surprised. A second passed as they stared at one another, but then they both looked away and he cleared his throat.

"Err, no, no problem whatsoever, other than the tiny little fact that we're thousands of miles underground. Quite close to the core of the Earth, actually! It'll be getting warm soon, don't say I didn't warn you," he said nonchalantly and she started feeling a little scared, although not any less interested at the same time. Thing was, she was locked in a lift - a small  _box_  - with a man who, although very easy on the eye, was completely bonkers and a broken lift was enough to make him all kinds of  _strange_. On the other hand, he was strange right from the "hello", Rose thought to herself.

She found herself drawn to the  _strange_ , but she'd never admit that.

"Right, and I'm the Queen of England," she scoffed, crossing her arms across her chest and rolling her eyes at him.

That was when she felt the whole lift begin to shake and the man started to panic, as did she, to be fair.

"No no no no! No you're  _not_! Not yet the time for that, I'm afraid," he shouted as he pressed the strange device against the control panel and buzzed it until it just blew up. Rose jumped away with a shriek, but he ignored her and stuck his hand straight into the hot mess of cables that was hidden underneath the metallic cover.

"What're you- Stop! You're gonna get electrocuted!"

Without a second thought, she took hold of his free arm with both of hers and attempted to drag him away, but he remained unmoved, his tongue once again appearing out of the corner of his mouth as he played around with the cables, occasionally letting out an  _Ow!_  which Rose assumed was a sign of getting shocked by electricity. How the man still stood was a miracle to her, but that did not make her cease trying to pull him away. He was obviously unstable and-

"Oh, but that's  _brilliant_!" He exclaimed out of nowhere, "That is some- _OW!_ -very, very old technology! Haven't seen that in years!" With that, he wiggled his arm around and pulled two cables out, both of which sent tiny shocks throughout his body.

"What's wrong with you, mate?! You're goin' to die! Just-just let go of that thing, yeah? Let go!" Rose shouted, but he ignored her.

"Go on, go on- I  _know_  you're in there! Blimey, I can't reach. And these cables, they're just-just all sorts of, I don't know,  _stingy_! Achy! I don't like these cables, no, I don't like them  _at all_! Dangerous things! Now, you're gonna have to let go of me if you want to get out of here alive I'm afraid," he said as he turned around to look straight at Rose with a strangely soft expression on his face, but despite his friendly look, she found herself feeling frightened.

"Are you  _threatening_  me?"

"What! No, not like  _that_ , 'course not. What is going on in that head of yours? I meant that I need both of my hands to fix this, err, this  _problem_. My hands, they're handy, handy handy hands! And I'd like to have both of them  _now_ , if possible. Look at that, we're at floor -1471! Nice number, that. Now, would you just let go of me, err, what's your-"

"Rose," she said and he grinned widely as the lift shook even harder. Rose couldn't tell if her heart skipped a beat from fear or from the fact that he, despite being a loony,  _did_  happen to have a rather gorgeous smile.

"Nice to meet you, Rose! Now, both of my hands, or within the next few minutes we will be, err, swimming in molten lava? That's a good analogy, yes, yes it is! What is it that you lot always say? Please? No, that's the one thing you always forget to say, but anyway! Please? Let go?  _Now_?"

The amount of emphasis on that last word made Rose let go of him. Upon being freed, he immediately stuck both of his hands into the tangled cables as she stood and watched with her mouth wide open, completely unsure of what was going on anymore, only knowing that he was  _completely mental_  and she wanted the damn lift to work so that she didn't have to be stuck in a metal box with this lunatic.

He started buzzing around the cables with that metal stick of his as Rose stood in the corner, genuinely frightened because of the unstable lift and several other things, until their descent suddenly ceased and then they started going up very, very rapidly, which pulled them both to the ground.

Rose screamed in terror, the man exclaimed in triumph and started laughing madly, and a few seconds later a familiar  _ding_  announced that they just arrived on floor number fourteen. The door opened, but she did not stand up, panting in fear.

He stood, extended his hand to her and helped her up. She accepted without thinking.

"There we go! You see, there is something wrong with the lifts. But it's not quite ready yet. This was just a, err, a  _test_. We passed it! Then again, I never fail a quiz, so that's not really surprising, is it? Weeell, aside from that  _Drowning with the Stars_ quiz on the telly. I don't watch that program. It's rubbish, it is! Anyway," he let go of her hand somewhat reluctantly because she still didn't snap it away, too surprised to react or even register his words, "Goodbye, Rose. And d'you know what? Better stick to the stairs for now. It's good exercise. You heard it from me first!"

Before she registered him leaving, he was already out of the lift and the door was closing, ready to bring her up to floor seventeen where her dad's office was.

Who  _is_  this man?

"Wait! Who are you? What's your-"

The door shut in her face and she slumped back with a sigh, shivering at the perspective of being left alone in this blasted box. Luckily, she arrived without any problem, but her confusion hasn't lessened in the least.

* * *

"Rose, where on Earth have you been? Forty past, it is!" Pete Tyler exclaimed as he stood, walked around his huge mahogany desk and went to give his daughter a peck on the cheek.

 _Forty_  past? She must've been stuck for much longer than she initially thought.

"'m sorry, dad. There's something up with the lift. I was stuck with this odd bloke, yeah? But he fixed it, I dunno how, but I'd have someone look into it if I were you," Rose said in a distressed and quiet tone, which made her father feel genuinely concerned.

"Really? No one's said anything. You must've been unlucky. Are you alright, love?"

"Yeah." She took a deep breath and managed a smile, "Yeah, 'm alright. Just have someone fix the lift before somebody else gets stuck."

"'course. Listen, I was going to show you the finance books today, but there's a problem in one of the factories. I'm gonna have to go there and look into it. You're not very upset, are you?" Pete asked with a smile, knowing all too well that his daughter would hardly feel eager to browse through long lines of numbers.

"No, it's okay," Rose said, trying in vain to contain her relief, "I'll just go home, yeah?"

"Actually," Pete cleared his throat, "D'you remember when I told you about that new bloke I hired? John Smith?" Rose nodded and her father continued, "Supposed to be showin' him around today, I was. His first day. I mean, he's done some work on Friday, but that was just in the lab. But I've really got to go and he'll be here any minute, so I thought... Why don't you show him the office, love? Jus' point him to the cafeteria and the like. How's that sound?"

Rose's expression would've gone sour if not for her curiosity in regards to the mysterious man that her dad hired on the spot without ever seeing him before. On the other hand, she wouldn't mind going home and taking a warm bath. Odd day, really. Stuck in a lift with a mad, handsome stranger for the better part of an hour...

Then again, perhaps her life's just so dull that she gets overexcited about the smallest thing. Probably that, yeah.

"I guess I could, if you like," she replied unconvincingly, not quite sure herself if her curiosity being sated was worth sticking around to show some bloke the remarkably dull cafeteria.

"Thank you, sweetheart. This is the third hardware failure in the factory this month. No idea what's it all about."

Before Rose could think of a response to that, the glass door to her father's office opened. Rose was facing away from it, but she turned around to follow her dad's eyes, and nearly gasped upon seeing who had just entered the office.

Wonderfully messy hair, that brilliant grin, hands in the pockets of his long coat, strutting as if he owns the place.

The lunatic from the lift.

But he couldn't-

"Ah, there you are, doctor Smith," Rose noticed that the man frowned ever so slightly when being referred to as  _doctor Smith_ , "Afraid I won't be showin' you around today. Emergency at the factory. May I introduce you to my daughter, Rose?"

She eyed the man up and down. Was  _he_  the mysterious Doctor? Well, who else could it be? He's a looker alright, and a freak just as she expected based on what her dad's said about him, but instead of feeling afraid, she found herself filled with a strange thrill.

So what if he's a lunatic? He's... Rather  _interesting_ , too. 'sides, it's not like she's goin' to be doing anything much. She'll show him the offices and the like and then she'll go home. Oh, and they're not going to be taking the lift. No way she'd ever lock herself up in a box with this man again. Not that the first time was her own choice, but still.

His frown disappeared by the time Pete Tyler said his daughter's name. The man in the coat looked at her intently for a few seconds, as if trying to solve a puzzle, but that perplexed expression also faded quickly and the smile that sprawled across his face was unmatched by any she's ever seen. It was weird, really, as if he was genuinely happy to see her, but how could he be? He doesn't even know her. She looked him in the eye with a challenge, determined to find out more about him during the course of the day. After all, not every day do you see a man who laughs maniacally as he sticks both his hands into a mess of rather deadly cables. In theory, any human being would most probably die if trying to do something like that.

But he didn't, did he?

"Hello," the man said cheerfully, "I'm the Doctor!"

Rose observed the Doctor in anticipation, with just one thought running through her mind:

_Well, Doctor, time to find out who you are._

* * *

**A/N:** Hi everyone! ^_^ This will be an AU fic about Ten/Rose that will span across several chapters - I can't say how many, but definitely more than just a few! Expect lots and lots of fluff later down the road, some humor, some angst, some comfort and a ton of love for my one true favorite pairing: DoctorxRose!

Feedback is always very, very appreciated. It motivates me to keep writing! Please let me know if you liked (or didn't like) this, and do forgive me for any mistakes, English is not my first language :)

Some clarifications: this isn't Rose from the parallel universe, this is just Rose who hasn't met Nine. That also explains her age - she is two years older than she was at the start of the show.


	2. Infuriating Mysteries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose takes the Doctor on a tour around Vitex, and finds him strangely infuriating.

  
  
_"May I introduce you to my daughter Rose?"_   
  
_With a wide grin, the strange man replied, "Hello, I'm the Doctor!"_

* * *

  
"Nice to meet you, Doctor Smith," Rose said with an ambiguous expression, watching in amusement as the man cringed in response. She chose not to let her dad know that his new employee is the lunatic who fixed the lift, although she wasn't sure why. Technically, she probably should've said it, because for all she knew about the Doctor, he was a total loony and being left alone with him may end up disastrous, but...  
  
She'd just have to take the risk. She was much too curious to just let this go now.  
  
"Rose, you'll show him around, will you? I've really got to go. Trouble's calling," Pete said apologetically as he regarded the Doctor. The man has already managed to optimize the entire lab back on Friday, speeding up the research by over two hundred percent, and Pete really didn't know what to make of it. Brilliant men like John Smith would choose to work with something else than Vitex, something big, something life-changing. After all, for all the money he's been making, Pete still knew that he was just selling soft drinks and he did not try to pretend to be something he was not.  
  
His new employee, however, he was something else.  
  
As soon as her father departed, Rose wasted no time and surprised the Doctor with a question.   
"Who  _are_  you?"  
  
He looked at her strangely, but his grin returned soon after.  
  
"What d'you mean? I told you! I'm the Doctor!"  
  
"Right, and you can just stick your hands into a mess of connected cables and then walk away like nothing's happened, yeah?"  
  
She frowned when she noticed his amused smirk. He wasn't supposed to be having  _fun_. He was supposed to be  _explaining_. After all, she's the daughter of Pete Tyler, his boss, and she could probably get him fired if she so wished. Mind you, Rose wasn't going to threaten him with that, but if worse comes to worst, maybe she should?  
  
She just wanted to know what the hell happened back in that lift, that's all. Surely he could tell her?  
  
"Basically, yeah. So! Tour, yes? You're supposed to be showing me around, Miss Tyler. Not that I'm in a hurry or anything! Not much to do here I dare say, although there is this, weeell, this little  _problem_. But that can wait."  
  
"So you're not gonna explain anything then, are you?" Rose insisted, keeping her eyes firmly locked on his. He did not surrender to her challenge, on the contrary, he met her gaze with conviction and amusement, and for some reason she found that infuriating. What was it with this man? She barely knew him, but she felt so strangely drawn to him, too. It's not just his dreamy eyes and messy hair, no, she's seen a fair amount of good looking blokes in her life. It's just... Something about him. Something... Intangible.  
  
Get a grip, Rose, she told herself. She's known him for what, an hour!  _An hour!_  Why was she even so angry at him? He acted like a mad man back in that lift, but whatever the problem was, he managed to fix it. She's supposed to be thankful, not annoyed, and yet his aloof demeanor has been getting on her nerves. She wanted answers.  
  
"Oh, I can explain anything! You will find that I know a fair bit of things. Yes, a fair bit, but that doesn't matter! So, about that tour?" he changed the subject,  _again_.   
Rose shook her head in exasperation, then walked past him and opened the glass door leading out of her father's office. Fine, tour it is. She'd get it over with, try and extract what information she could, and then keep a close eye on him during her days spent at Vitex. What if he's a spy of some sort? He's certainly bonkers, but maybe it's just an act? For the time being, Rose decided to stay quiet and observe him, too puzzled with her own annoyance to be able to interrogate the Doctor any further.  
  
She walked fast, anger apparent in her stride, but the man followed her at a leisurely pace which did not match her own, hands kept in his pockets, looking around the gray, white, black and blue shades of the office with moderate interest. Acting as if he's seen it all before. He probably has, Rose thought, he ought to have worked somewhere else before he came to Vitex. Where? What was his job? She didn't know that either. She only knew his name. The Doctor, Doctor John Smith. Doctor I-Can-Get-Shocked-By-Electricity-Repeatedly-And-Not-Die Smith. Doctor No-Answers Smith.  
  
She unknowingly shook her head, trying to purge it of her nagging, irrational thoughts, which the Doctor did not miss.  
  
"Something the matter, Miss Tyler?"  
  
"No," she dismissed without even turning to look back at him, then walked on until they went down to the eighteenth floor. She stopped and pointed at a large room that was, much like her father's office, surrounded by glass walls.   
"Coffee room's right here. There's a proper cafeteria on the ground floor," she stated, finding herself surprised with the fact that all of a sudden she was able to keep her voice relatively steady. Perhaps it was because she wasn't looking at the strangely infuriating and hopelessly mysterious Doctor.  
  
"Ooh, brilliant!" the Doctor exclaimed, standing next to her and eyeing the tables, chairs and people curiously. "What's it for?"  
  
Rose couldn't stifle her chuckle as she looked up at him, "Having coffee?"  
  
"Right. Right, that  _does_  make sense, doesn't it?"  
  
He met her gaze with a smile and she wished he hadn't, because she was supposed to be mad at him. For what, she couldn't really say. Avoiding her questions, maybe. Being so different and charming in a way he doesn't even seem to be aware of. Rose didn't want any charming men in her life. She's had enough fiascos for the time being; first Jimmy, then Mickey. Going out with a thirty-something bloke would be a terrible idea...  
  
Rose scolded herself internally. What on Earth was she thinking about?! She broke the eye contact and went on to show the Doctor where the marketing section was, introduced him to a few people and then moved on.  
  
"How old are you?" she blurted out much to her own surprise, breaking the lingering silence.  
  
"Errr, about, nine hundred and two? Or three. I've lost track. Been out of the loop for a little while, but-"  
  
Her laughter interrupted him right then and there as she shook her head. It was confirmed. The Doctor was a complete lunatic. She'd probably have to tell her dad, too. Not very safe to have a man like that working in a lab, now is it?  
  
"Yeah, and what'd I say back in that lift? Right, and I'm the Queen of England."  
  
"Weeell, you very well might be, one day. You never know!"  
  
She shook her head. Bonkers. Completely bonkers.  
  
"Have you been to the doctor lately, mate?"  
  
"What for? I  _am_  the Doctor!"  
  
"Right, yeah, a doctor of  _what_  exactly?"  
  
" _Everything_!"  
  
Rose didn't even realize that they stopped in the middle of the staircase. She raised her eyes to meet his and took no note of their proximity, not until she felt that strange electric current pulse between them again, which made her flinch away from him ever so slightly.  
  
"How does that even work? You're not makin' sense!"  
  
"I'm just very clever," he smiled at her smugly and she scoffed, shaking her head at the strange man.  
  
"And what're you doin' in my dad's company, then? Are you tryin' to steal his upcoming drinks? 'cos you know, I'm not going to let that happen. Dad loves this company, yeah? And no loony in a suit is going to be stealing his hard work!"  
  
The more she looked into his eyes, the more she raised her voice, angry at both him and herself for feeling drawn to him. His expression changed drastically as he burst into laughter, clutching to the railing, seemingly about to collapse from laughing too hard.  
  
"What? What's so funny?" Rose demanded.  
  
"Right, that's-that's a very  _interesting_  hypothesis, that's all. Yes,  _interesting_. Very wrong and very interesting."  
  
"Who are you, then? How'd you fix the lift? What are you doin' in Vitex? I mean, clearly you're not just some sort of a scientist, are you?" her questions spilled from her mouth, destroying her initial plan of slowly finding out what's it all about.  
  
His laughter died down and he looked at her intently, almost as if weighing how much he could tell her.  
  
"Weeell, for starters, I'm not really human. I'm a Time Lord!"  
  
"A what lord?"  
  
"A Time Lord! Go on, Rose, keep up!"  
  
"You're insane, Doctor Smith."  
  
"Oh, drop that whole  _Doctor Smith_  thing. It's annoying! I'm the Doctor,  _just_  the Doctor!"  
  
"Yeah? Well,  _you_  are annoying too!" She regretted her words the moment she said them. She's allowed him to pull her into some sort of childish bickering. Turning on her heel she climbed the stairs back to the twentieth floor without letting him respond to her rather weak comeback, deciding to finish off the tour and avoid the man from there on. Shouldn't be hard. She normally only spent time with her dad, sometimes his secretary... Right, she ought to bring the Doctor to meet Marge. After that, she'd be off. Her dad didn't say how long she's supposed to stay, did he? She should've showed the man the cafeteria and then gone home. How foolish she'd been to stay any longer than that! And to even try  _talking_  to him! It was all because her life is so boring. Nothing ever happens, literally  _nothing_ , so it's no wonder that she's jumped at the opportunity of getting to know this strange, gorgeous-  
  
Hold it right there, Rose. Stop it. Just  _stop it_.

* * *

  
"This is the head secretary, Marge. I guess you've met before?"  
  
"Yes, hello! Ooh," he exclaimed as he shifted his focus away from the middle-aged, brown haired woman onto one of the shelves, "Look at that! Now that's, that's interesting!" He begun sniffing the wooden shelf, puzzling both the women in his company. "But you're not ready yet, are you! It's not _all_  of you!"   
He finished it all off by  _licking_  the piece of furniture. Rose cringed in disgust.  
  
"Doctor!"  
  
"Hmm?" He pulled out that metallic thing that she's already seen back in the lift and started buzzing around the shelf. Marge's eyes were wide and round as saucers upon the sight, so she conquered her unexplainable fear of him and asked the question that Rose didn't get to ask first.  
  
"What's that thing? What's it do?"  
  
"Oh, that, that is a  _sonic multi-purpose device_. You wouldn't understand," he dismissed and went back to the scanning, mumbling under his breath.  
  
The woman's face immediately fell and she returned to her duties, or at least pretended to, as Rose stared at the Doctor in astonishment. In two quick strides she was at his side, tugging on his arm with a scorning gaze.  
  
"Doctor, that wasn't nice," she muttered under her breath and he finally looked at her, surprise all over his face. Rose wasn't quite as surprised. Some people never watch their tongue, the Doctor was certainly one of them. He's got quite the gob.  
  
"What? What wasn't nice?" he asked a little too loudly and then followed her stare when she looked at Marge, who currently tried her hardest to appear to be very busy. Moments later a hint of comprehension crept up on his face as he let out a quick  _oh_.  
  
"Yeah.  _Exactly_."  
  
"Right," he turned around and walked over to Marge's desk, his voice soft as he spoke, "I'm sorry. That was a tad rude, wasn't it? Look, I'll show you what my beautiful sonic screwdriver can do! I'm sure you'd do a better job with it than I do, actually. I tend to be a little, weeell,  _hasty_ , you see, and that's not very good! Now, look here," he pleaded and Marge, although at first reluctantly, obeyed, observing the device in his hand and replicating what he did when he handed it to her. She pointed it at his jacket as instructed, and the whole suit changed color: from blue to brown, matching his coat. The woman gasped in delight, the Doctor smiled at her earnestly, and Rose couldn't help the warmth that settled inside her heart. Yes, this man was completely mad and operated a strange device he referred to as a  _sonic screwdriver_ , but he knew how to fix a mistake when he's made one. That's a lot more than what can be said about most people, Rose thought as she walked over to stand beside him and watched as he allowed Marge to learn a few commands on that stick of his.  
  
"I'll just go make us all a cuppa, yeah? 's almost lunch time," she said to no one in particular and protested when Marge tried to stop her, offering to do it herself. "No, no. You stay here and keep an eye on Doctor Smith. He's completely bonkers though, so be careful." Rose smiled, allowing just the tip of her tongue to emerge from the corner of her lips in a teasing expression that the Doctor turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of before she turned away and left the room.  
  
"Oi! I'm not  _bonkers_!" he called out behind her and she smiled, but she reminded herself that she was supposed to be mad at him, so that smile quickly faded.  
  
The Doctor. Doctor  _who_ exactly?

* * *

  
Rose came back just in time to see the Doctor point his  _sonic screwdriver_  at one of the printers in an attempt to show off, and the moment he pressed the button, the lights in the entire building just went off. Silence fell, surrounding them for a brief moment until the three of them heard exclamations of surprise, disapproval and just plain old cursing coming from the other rooms.  
  
"Oops. I-I may have used the wrong setting. Just  _may_. I mean, it's not  _entirely_  impossible that the lights just randomly went out. It happens all the time!"  
  
"What did you do?!"  
  
"Oh, nothing, nothing much! Nothing at all. I'll have it fixed in no time.  _In a jiffy_ , as you lot always say! Yup, no time at all!"  
  
She could barely make out his face in the looming darkness, but she could still tell that his teeth were exposed in a goofy smile. Insane, infuriating man.  
  
"Dad's not goin' to be happy if you don't get it fixed before he's back, just so you know."  
  
"Oh, it won't take that long. Just need to find the power generators. You have those, don't you? Generators? Of power?"  
  
Rose sighed. Yes, they did have them. Yes, they were all the way down below floor zero, and yes, they'd have to walk over twenty stories down in order to reach them. Brilliant.  
  
"Yeah. Go on then, shift, we're goin'. Stay here, Marge, and if he's not fixed it in thirty minutes jus' call dad, alright?"  
  
"Alright, love. Be careful," Marge said, "Good luck, Doctor Smith."  
  
The Doctor sighed as he said, "Thank you, Marge!"  
  
Luckily for Rose, she knew her way around Vitex almost as well as her father did, so locating the power generators didn't take them long. The Doctor handed her a flashlight - where he managed to keep it, she had no idea, and asked her to keep illuminating the generators as he buzzed around with that strange device of his. She obeyed, but she quickly noticed that he worked mostly in the shade where she could barely see anything at all.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me to move the torch? You can't see a thing in here, Doctor."  
  
"Oh, I don't need it. It's you lot, you humans, you're afraid of darkness. Which is not a bad idea really, considering all the monsters that lurk in the shade. Such as, weeell-no, wait. I'm confusing you, aren't I? But yes, humans, you like the light. The torch is for your sake," he explained, "Ooh, but that is  _brilliant!_  Some very old technology. I haven't seen this stuff in, what was it, two hundred years? Yup! Two hundred. Give or take a few years."  
  
Rose observed in disgust as he dipped his finger into a spot of tar of some sort and then brought it to his mouth, exclaiming something about _hyperthonic polarity shifters_  and  _something-something alterations_.  
  
"You mean that it  _hasn't been seen_  in two hundred years, yeah? 'sides, that's not true. This is latest technology, this stuff! Dad's not cheap about these things, you know."  
  
"No, I said that  _I_  haven't seen it! Haven't you heard? Wait, hold on. You still don't believe me, do you?"  
  
She recalled him saying that he was nine hundred years old or somethin', and saying that he was a Time Lord, whatever that may be. That's when it hit her that she was in a dark basement with a complete lunatic, that same lunatic that she was stuck in a lift with just like what, two hours ago? Was she tryin' to get herself killed?  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Weeell, that's alright. You'll believe me in time."  
  
Rose sighed in resignation, observing the man as he tinkered.   
"Y'know, my dad  _did_  say that you were  _odd_ , but he didn't say that you were completely bonkers. You didn't tell him all that stuff, did you? All those completely mental things? About Time Lords and such?"  
  
"No, 'course not!"  
  
"Then why're you telling  _me_?"  
  
"Because you're  _clever_ , Miss Tyler. You ask all the right questions!"  
  
She shook her head but then realized that he couldn't have seen it, so she had to speak up.  
  
"No, I'm not. My dad though, he's pretty brilliant."  
  
"Oh, your father is a, weeell... A great businessman, no doubt! Don't need to be clever for that, just lucky. Sometimes. But you, Rose, you are  _clever_."  
  
"Thanks, I guess," she said halfheartedly, not agreeing with him in the least, "Hold on, did you just compliment me or insult my dad? You should've said that he's clever too, you know."  
  
"Insult? I never insult anyone! Essence of politeness, that's me."  
  
She gave him a disbelieving look remembering how he insulted the secretary just twenty minutes ago. Noting that she fell silent, he turned his eyes towards her and took note of her expression.  
  
"Right, well, I'm not used to your human customs! Haven't seen much of you lot lately. Been on my own for a bit."  
  
"You  _are_  human, Doctor Smith."  
  
"No I'm not. I'm a Time Lord, I told you! Keep up, Rose!"  
  
"Oh, so we're on a first name basis now, are we?"  
  
"Why not? And remember, I'm the Doctor.  _Just_  the Doctor. Drop the Smith. It's odd, that," he said as he returned to the tinkering, "So this is what controls the lifts, eh? Interesting..."  
  
"Why d'you keep mumbling all these weird things to yourself, then?"  
  
"Mumbling? I'm not mumbling! I'm just  _calibrating_. I do that a lot."  
  
Unsure of what to say next, she remained silent for a moment, pointing the torch at the Doctor as she watched him work. He wasn't very focused, but yet he seemed quite engrossed in the work at the same time. How that was even possible, she couldn't say. Rose quickly realized that the Doctor was a man she could certainly not understand, even though he's already told her a lot of things. On the other hand, not one of those things could possibly have been true, so it's not like he's said anything of importance.  
  
Although that would explain the lift...  
  
No, Rose. Just  _no_.  
  
Suddenly, she heard rustling somewhere behind her and her heart quickly jumped all the way up to her throat.  
  
"Doctor, did you hear that?" she whispered in a voice much smaller than she wished it to be. The Doctor nodded, looking around with a frown, then buzzed his  _sonic_  again, finally illuminating the basement.  
  
"There, that's fixed! And now, Rose Tyler, now we'd better go. And by  _we'd better_  I mean we  _must_. Go on!" He grabbed her hand and she absentmindedly allowed him to hold it as he pulled her in the opposite direction of where they came from.  
  
"Wait! You're goin' the wrong way! And why are we running?"  
  
"Running is good for your health, Rose!" At that, the rustling intensified and his pace quickened to the point of her having to struggle to keep up. "And it's the right way. The shorter way, even!"  
  
To her surprise, the man was right. He pulled her into the lift and pushed the button in the same second. Just before the door closed, out of the corner of her eye, Rose noticed a strange shade outside. She turned to the Doctor, still holding his hand, wanting explanations. Again.  
  
"What on Earth was that? And how did you even know the way?" She asked urgently, expecting disappointment. Two hours of knowing him and she's already noticed that he wasn't one to answer questions unless it specifically suited him.  
  
"It was, err, nothing. Nothing  _yet_ ," he said menacingly but then brightened considerably upon answering the second question, "And weeell, I  _may_ have already known the way around the whole building. But the tour was lovely. Yes, lovely! Couldn't pass up on the opportunity, could I?"  
  
"What?!" Rose exclaimed, letting go of his hand. Why did she hold on to it for so long? She felt irrationally scared. And irrationally interested. And just  _irrational_. She's been acting daft the whole day, that's what she's been doing, and it ought to stop right there and right then. "How's that even possible?"  
  
"I've done a little, err,  _overtime_  back on Friday and walked around," he said casually, exiting the lift on the ground floor, hands once again in his pockets. Rose let out a breath of relief upon seeing that everything up there was back to normal. Electricity, normal people, no strange shades and no longer stuck alone with the Doctor.  
  
Great.  
  
"You make no sense," she said with a sigh, turning around to face him as they stood in front of the lifts.  
  
"I get that a lot, don't I? Yes, yes I do. But I thought that this time around it might be better. I think the problem might be you lot, not me."  
  
"What d'you mean,  _you lot_?"  
  
"Humans."  
  
Rose chuckled, tired of the emotional rollercoaster she's been on for the past two hours. Curiosity, fear, disbelief, anger, lots and lots of annoyance and alright, alright, a hint of attraction, too. Too much for one day, really.  
  
"No, Doctor.  _You're_  the problem. Absolutely."  
  
"But-"  
  
"And now, I'm off. I've got work and you obviously didn't need a tour," she said, looking up at him and regarding those brown eyes of his for a moment that lasted a little too long. He looked back at her almost tenderly, and for a brief second she thought that he seemed confused, almost unsure. He was a mystery, that man, and even though she's set out to find out more about him earlier this morning, she found herself even more clueless now than she was to begin with.  
  
"Right," he said, swallowing thickly before replacing that confused expression of his with a casual grin. "Well then, Rose Tyler, I s'pose I'll see you around."  
  
"Yeah. Maybe. See you," she said as she walked away, asking herself  _why_  exactly she felt like she wanted him to stop her.  
  
Needless to say, she spent the entire afternoon at work thinking about the Doctor and the many mysteries that surrounded him.

* * *

  
"Rose, what's goin' on with you, sweetheart? You're in a daze, you are!" Rose's mum, Jackie, complained as Rose missed what her mother said for the third time that evening.  
  
"Nothin', mum. I'm jus' a bit tired, 's all," she dismissed, eyes glued to the telly. She had no idea what programme they were even watching. She was still lost in thought.  
  
"Are you sure you're not ill? C'mere, let me check your temperature," Jackie said as she brushed Rose's forehead with her lips and then shook her head. "You seem alright, love. What's on your mind, then? Go on, tell me!"  
  
"It's just been a long day, yeah? First I get stuck in the lift at dad's work. Then I have to show this-this  _mental_  bloke around, then the electricity goes off, then I meet Mickey on the way home and he's all up in my face about how we shouldn't have broken up and so on, and I feel so bad about it all, you know? And it's just- I don't even know." Rose vented as her mum pulled her into a hug.  
  
"Sweetheart, Mickey's just missin' you, he is. He loved you to bits, you know."  
  
"I know, but he was like a brother. I mean, it was worth a try, but he should find himself a better bird to chase."  
  
"Don't think he knows any better," Jackie said thoughtfully, smiling down at her daughter, "neither do I, really. You're a lovely girl, you are. And I'm not sayin' that just 'cos you're my daughter!"  
  
Rose smiled sincerely and took a deep breath for the first time that day. She's home now. She's got to stop thinking about the Doctor and Mickey and everything. She just needs to relax.  
  
"Thanks, mum."  
  
"And how was the mad scientist your poor father hired? Is he really a looker, then? Fit bloke, is he?"  
  
Trust her mum to remind her of the Doctor just as she made a decision  _not_  to think about him.  
  
"Yeah," she admitted with a dose of reluctance, "yeah, he's a looker alright, but he's really weird. Really, really weird and annoying and-"  
  
"Well, we ought to have him over for dinner! I'll tell Pete to invite him over next Friday, that's what I'll do."  
  
Rose tried to talk her mum out of that terrible idea, 'course she did, but once Jackie Tyler decides on something, it might as well be carved in stone. It's happening.  
  
No wonder Rose could hardly think of anything else up until Wednesday, the day when she saw him again.  
  


**~oOo~**

  
  
She bumped into him first thing when she walked over to her dad's office, ready for studying the finance books or whatever else they were meant to do that day. He had his blue suit on but no coat, and his hair was even more messy than it was on Monday, but it was still the Doctor, and strange as it may seem, Rose felt at peace when she saw him again. Right, so he wasn't just a product of her imagination. Fair enough. Then  _what_  was he, really?  
  
"Morning," she said casually, looking at him strangely. They bumped into each other and that was the most contact they've had since the day they met. Rose paid it no mind, though, but he seemed stunned as he looked at her in wonder, speechless for an extended moment.  
  
"Good morning!" he finally said, smiling at her. He pulled his sonic out of the pocket of his trousers and pointed it at her backpack, "Your toast has gone cold. Not anymore!"  
  
Seconds later, she shrieked as her backpack was set on fire after a short buzz from his sonic. He rushed to help her out of it and extinguished the fire, but before he managed to buzz the device again in order to fix the scorched bag, she stopped him by snapping it out of his fingers.  
  
"That's enough. You're not usin' this around the office, Doctor."  
  
"But-but  _Rose_! I need it! I just need to make a new one. This one  _may_  have gotten damaged during my regeneration. It seems that way."  
  
"During your what?"  
  
"Regene-"  
  
"Oh, Rose, there you are! You're late again, love! What's happened to that backpack of yours, then?" Pete Tyler stepped out of his office and gave Rose a quick peck on the cheek, then turned his eyes to the Doctor. "Gettin' along with my daughter, are you, Doctor Smith?"  
  
The Doctor sighed in apparent exasperation and said, " _The_  Doctor. But yes, yes, I most certainly am."  
  
Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"Can I have my sonic screwdriver back now? I need it for my, err, research. Yes, research. Important research on the new... New... Orange and chocolate soda!"  
  
"What?" both the father and daughter exclaimed at the same time, wincing in disgust.  
  
"Extra research is never bad! 'sides, that's what you're paying me for, isn't it? 'course it is! So, can I have it back?  _Please_?"   
The face he made at her right there was that of a lost puppy, and Rose could hardly say no. She dropped the device onto his extended hand, fingers brushing his palm very slightly as she did so. And there it was again. That strike of electricity, always quick to catch her off-guard. She looked at him, wondering if he felt that too, and found that same confused look etched across his face.  
  
"What is it that you lot always say?" he asked upon gathering his bearings, "Right,  _thank you!_  See, I'm polite, Rose! Now, I'd best get going. Research. Important research!"  
  
"Yeah. I'll see you around, yeah?"  
  
"Of course. Absolutely."  
  
He nodded at her, never tearing his eyes away from her until he turned around and walked off, not saying another word. Rose shook her head and followed her father back into his office.  
  
"He's odd, that Doctor, isn't he?" she asked as they browsed through lines of boring numbers moments later.  
  
"He's completely bonkers, that's what he is." Pete laughed. "But those are the best, sweetheart. Thinking outside the box and all that."  
  
"I guess," she replied unconvincingly and tried to focus on the task at hand, all the while knowing that she won't manage. How could she think of economics when there was a mystery simply aching to be solved?

* * *

  
She hasn't seen the Doctor until she was about to leave Vitex for the day. She found him talking to Marge and assisting the older woman with her work. The secretary regarded the Doctor with a friendly, grateful look, and Rose stood in the doorway for a moment, looking at him as he excitedly helped Marge with some rather trivial task. There was happiness present on his face, no doubt, and it was then that Rose first thought him  _kind_.  
  
It took him a minute to notice that they were being watched, and when he saw Rose his already happy face brightened considerably.  
  
"Oh, hello! Are you leaving?"  
  
"Yeah, I am. Got work," Rose said without an ounce of anticipation in her voice. She'd rather go home or even stay at Vitex, but well, she's got exactly what she asked for.  
  
"I'll walk you to the exit. That is, err, if you don't mind?"  
  
"Sure, I s'pose. I'll see you on Monday, Marge!"  
  
"Take care of yourself sweetheart," Marge said, waving at them both as they walked to the lifts.  
  
Rose shifted uncomfortably in the lift as it started moving down at its regular pace, and the Doctor looked at her for a brief moment before taking hold of her hand in a comforting gesture. She knew she should snap it away, but she still didn't.  
  
"They're fine, the lifts. For now. Don't worry!"  
  
"That sounds reassuring," she said sarcastically but smiled back at him regardless. She then asked out of the blue, "You're not from here, are you?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Where're you from? The south?"  
  
He laughed as he said, "Nope."  
  
"Then where?"  
  
"Gallifrey."  
  
"Is that in Ireland?" she asked, puzzled when he laughed even harder.  
  
"I s'pose you could say that, yes."  
  
"Where do you live now, then?"  
  
"Err, I have a box. I live in that box. Of sorts."  
  
"A  _box_."  
  
"Weeell, yes. It's a special kind of box, though."  
  
"You live in a  _box_. What are you, homeless?"  
  
The lift arrived safely at the ground floor and he let go of her hand. She walked out with a sigh of relief, closely followed by the Doctor.  
  
"No, it's a special box. A... A...  _Travel box_! It can travel anywhere in time and space!"  
  
Rose laughed at his antics and said, "I don't believe a single word you say, Doctor."  
  
He offered her a friendly smile as he retorted, "That's alright. I'll show you one day. It's not really a box, you know. It's all sorts of  _different_  and it's bigger on the-" he trailed off, "No, I'll just show you one day. More fun that way!"  
  
"You're bonkers," she said, turning to leave the building.  
  
"When will I see you again?" he asked out of nowhere, making her freeze in place. She wanted to see him, 'course she did, but she  _shouldn't_.  
  
Despite that, she answered, "Monday. I'm here on Mondays and Wednesdays."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Moment of silence later, Rose said, "Well, see ya."  
  
"Right, yes, err, see you."  
  
She didn't turn to look at him, even though she wanted to.  
  
And that was the first time she's ever looked forward to a Monday.  
  


**~oOo~**

  
  
She woke up three hours too early on Monday after a rather restless weekend spent on overanalyzing a plethora of all sorts of things. She arrived at Vitex an hour too early, too. Her dad's been away on a business trip since Thursday and he wasn't due to come back until tomorrow, but she said she'd come in and check if everything was alright at the office in his absence.  
  
What she didn't say was that she wanted to meet the Doctor, but well, she sort of did want to. A little.  
  
So Rose took the lift up to floor twelve on which he worked and asked around for him. Nobody knew where he was. Checking the cafeteria brought no result, nor her dad's office nor anywhere else, so she finally went to Marge to inquire after him. A little bit of small talk later, she finally worked up the courage to ask,  
  
"Marge, where's the Doctor? I mean, Doctor Smith. Where's he?"  
  
"Wish I knew, love," Marge responded as she shook her head, "We ain't heard from him since Thursday. Hasn't showed up to work."  
  
"Called in sick?" Rose asked, shocked at how her heart suddenly started racing.  
  
"No. No sign of the man. We called the phone number he's listed, but nobody's picking up. God knows where he went. I hope he's alright. He's a good bloke, that one, isn't he?"  
  
Rose nodded absentmindedly and snuck away from the room very quickly.  
  
She didn't want anybody else to see her disappointment. Not even  _she_  wanted to see her own disappointment.  
  
The Doctor has gone missing. Why on Earth did she care this much?  
  
Rose had no idea why, but it was a fact. She cared.

* * *

  
**A/N:** Thank you so much for the positive feedback on the first chapter! I hope you liked this one too ^_^ I will tie up all the loose ends in due time, so don't worry about that. Please let me know if you enjoyed reading this, and I'll see you soon with chapter 3!


	3. The Missing Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose searches for the Doctor, all to no avail. Will she ever see him again?

_"Marge, where's the Doctor? I mean, Doctor Smith. Where's he?"_

_"Wish I knew, love," Marge shook her head, "We ain't heard from him since Thursday. Hasn't showed up to work."_

_"Called in sick?" Rose asked, shocked at how her heart suddenly started racing._

_"No. No sign of the man. We called the phone number he's listed, but nobody's picking up._

_The Doctor has gone missing. Why on Earth did she care this much?_

_Rose had no idea why, but it was a fact. She cared._

* * *

Rose didn't really know what to think of it at first. It's not like she knew the Doctor well, in fact, she barely knew him at all. He got them out of that bloody lift, accompanied her on a tour around Vitex (which turned out to be unnecessary), fixed the power in the whole building (after first breaking it) and made her run away from a shade she couldn't truly see. Perhaps she'd better say,  _made her run away because he_   _made her paranoid_.

And then, at the end of it all, he asked when he'd see her again, but the next time she was at Vitex, he wasn't there.

Rose thought back to her initial idea of him being a spy. Could it be that she was right? Was it possible that he was only there to steal the secrets of her dad's company and that's why he suddenly disappeared, 'cos he's got what he wanted?

She shook her head, staring absently at the television screen in front of her. She led a dull life, comfortable but dull, and she hasn't met many people. Not many, no, but the ones she's met, she liked to think she  _knew_. And there was a kindness in his eyes that she couldn't have just imagined, could she? Was it an illusion caused by the fancy she has taken towards him? Not that she fancied him or anything. He was just... Odd. And odd was  _interesting_. And interesting was  _good_  when the highlight of your week was the occasional trip to the supermarket.

Rose sighed heavily. She's grown weary of her life over the past few months. Mind you, she tried her best, but her happiness laid elsewhere and she just wasn't able to find it. She wasn't sure that she ever would.

"Rose, love, what're you sittin' in the darkness for? Turn on the light!"

Her father's voice pulled her out of her silent reverie. Rose blinked as if trying to dispel the stubborn thoughts and forced her gaze to focus on Pete, who stood in the doorway, still wearing a suit and tie, freshly returned from his business trip. She must've missed the knock.

Why was she so disappointed about the Doctor being missing? Why was she so worried?

What if something had happened to him?

Rose's heart froze for a second at the prospect, although she couldn't pinpoint why. Mind you, she didn't like it when people were hurt, no, she'd always try and help them if only she could. But it's not like she knew-

Enough, Rose.

She reached towards the lamp and illuminated the room, then stood to give Pete a big hug.

"I had no idea you were home! How was your trip?" she asked, trying to remain cheerful even though her thoughts were far from positive.

"All's fine, it is. But what is this I hear about John Smith not showing up to work? Marge's told me everything the moment I stepped inside the office, she did."

Great. So not only her mum made her think about the Doctor, her father did the very same thing. You just  _can't_  win, can you?

"Yeah, I have no idea. Marge told me that he hasn't been at work since Thursday. I hope... I hope he's alright," she said, her tone dropping low on the last few words, eyes drifting to the ground to avert her father's piercing gaze.

"Well, it's Wednesday tomorrow. How 'bout we try and find out where the bloke's gone off to, eh? Call the numbers and such?"

Rose brightened considerably. That was her very own plan, too. She's told herself that she'd coax the Doctor's address out of Marge on Wednesday if he still didn't show up until then. She'd feel extremely stupid visiting him if he was just ill or so, but she simply had to make sure.

She nodded, her spirits lifted for the time being. He's got to be there somewhere.

Right?

* * *

Rose's mind was a complete mess by the time the next day rolled around. Stuck between worrying about the strange lunatic she barely knew and contemplating her own life, she's got next to no sleep and next to no energy, but a glimmer of hope still managed to plant itself inside her heart, fooling her into thinking that the Doctor might show up to work that day.

If he  _did_  show up, she'd tell him off and not bother speaking to him again. Why would she? They weren't even as much as work mates, since she didn't really work at Vitex, not yet, and he was  _completely_  bonkers. Plenty enough reasons not to chat, or so she thought. Who does he think he is, anyway, skipping work for a whole week without as much as one word? He may think he is the king of the world, but he's certainly  _not_. He'll see.

That she even gave him this much thought was enough to frustrate her.

Both grumpy and hopeful, she followed her dad into Vitex early in the morning. After they've both checked the labs all to no avail, they went straight up to Marge.

Rose stood by idly, absentmindedly playing with the hem of her leather jacket as her dad received the weekly report from his secretary and then inquired after Doctor John Smith. Much to her own amusement, she too found herself cringing at her father using the Doctor's full name, but she's had no idea why it even bothered her at all.

"Hasn't been to work, sir, not since last week," an intern that Rose was not familiar with chipped in while sorting big stacks of papers on another desk.

Pete nodded and turned back to Marge with a request, "We've got to make sure the poor bloke's alright. Give me his phone number and address, Rose and I will go have a look."

"But Peter," Marge said much less formally than the intern did, having known her boss for many years, "What about the meeting with the Sports Industries? That's today, in an hour. Ten A.M. sharp."

Pete's face fell as he remembered. It was an important business meeting, one he certainly could not miss, but a man's life could be in danger. Perhaps they ought to just call the police?

"I can go," Rose offered, looking up to her father. "I don't mind, really. I'll be back in a mo'. And we've really got to check if he's okay, yeah? I mean, for all we know he could be... Ill or somethin', I dunno."

She tried to appear indifferent, but in truth, she really wasn't. She had a distinct feeling that something must be wrong, although she knew more than well how irrational that feeling was. After all, for all she knew the Doctor might have been a con of some sort, or being the crazy bloke that he was, he just got bored of work and wasn't kind enough to notify the firm about that. Who knows? Either way, Rose wanted to check it out. To be sure he's alright. For, well, some strange reason.

After a few minutes spent on persuading her dad and a couple of unanswered phone calls to the Doctor's number, she set off to the address she has received from Marge.

**~oOo~**

Rose got off the bus in a painfully familiar area of London and looked around anxiously, taking in her surroundings in full before she took another step. Everything was just as dull as her life normally was, dipped in shades of gray; the streets were full of concrete buildings on every side of the road, filled with simple bedrooms for those that couldn't afford to move out of the estate. The estate that was commonly known as the Powell Estate.

She gingerly took a couple of steps before coming back to her usual quick pace and made her way to her destination, regarding the changes the years had made in the area. After all, she hasn't been to this street in nine years. And this street-this place-this part of the city, it was just... Paved with memories.

There was that chip shop around the corner that they all loved, looking shabby just as it used to, but the smell was very inviting. Oh, and the playground she always used to go to, that was there too, and the bench on which she and her mum used to sit down to feed the pigeons, that stood the test of time just as well, although it was now green instead of red. But all in all, it was her home for the first twelve years of her life, up until her dad's company suddenly took off. Those first years of her life she lived here, on this council estate, in a stuffy two bedroom flat, just one of the many flats in one of the many blocks that all looked the same. Rose remembered the family Christmases when she'd only get candy, her mums birthday when all they were able to give Jackie was a handmade card from her daughter, Pete's sad eyes as he sold their old car to further support the company; that was Rose's past. She wasn't ashamed of it, she didn't regret it, but she still never returned to this estate after they've moved out.

It was odd, really, how it all became good basically overnight. A large manufacturer took an interest in her father's work, a contract has been signed, and a few months later they never had to worry about money anymore. It was just one more stroke of luck in Rose's life, one of those things she never took for granted but remained grateful about. Her memories of the Powell Estate weren't all bad, really. It was her childhood.

 _This is it_ , she thought as she stopped next to the staircase of her old building. Could it be? He lives in  _that very same building_? Just one floor above their old place? How's that even possible?

Although, why  _wouldn't_  it be possible? The man can live wherever he likes. 'sides, he did mention living in a  _box_ , which would be a good euphemism for the tiny flats people had to choose from on this council estate. With a shake of her head, Rose climbed the stairs all the way to  _his_  floor, her heart beating its way up her chest, feeling as though it was now in her throat, taking her breath away.

He'll open the door. She'll tell him off. Where else would he be, anyway? She's gotta admit, though, it  _is_  an odd place to live for a surely rather well off bloke. He's a genius of some sort, why's he living in a council estate? He's got to be rich. Or maybe...

 _For god's sake, get a grip, Rose!_ , she shouted inside her own mind and stopped in front of the door numbered  _717_. That was it. She reached his apartment, which strangely enough was exactly one floor above their old place. The place she grew up in.

Rose dismissed the strange urge to go downstairs and ring the bell to their old flat, see who lives there, see what it looks like now. What would it help, anyway? Even if some of her best years were spent in that tiny apartment, it didn't matter anymore. Odd as it may be, her family felt more intact back then, they had all those different values, and a night spend watchin'  _The Wheel of Fortune_  on the telly was the height of their happiness. And now? Now, she was an outright disappointment to her parents, she was; although they've never shown her that, she still knew. And she's got no idea what to do about her life, not really.

She briefly wished she could be like the Doctor. Completely bonkers, but also undoubtedly brilliant. She accepted that he was, in fact, very good at whatever he was doing; it was clear to see from the way her dad spoke of him. The man was clever, and Rose couldn't help thinking that she'd surely find her way through life with a brain like that and great looks to match.

With a deep breath, she rang the doorbell and braced herself.

She was planning to tell him off, she was. She'd tell him that he's an idiot for not showing up to work, and that  _grown ups don't act like that, Mr. Smith_ , she would say  _exactly_  that. And he'd get upset, surely, but that was the whole point.

She  _would_  tell him off, but nobody answered the door.

She rang again and then once more, and finally heard a voice scream out in a grumpy tone,

"Hold yer horses, I'm comin', for chrissakes! Bloody hell!" came the voice from inside the apartment, a voice that sounded nothing like his. It was, in fact, a female voice, a cranky one at that.

Rose frowned as the door opened, revealing a woman in her late forties. Red hair with streaks of gray, tired eyes, a face that spoke of years of a few beers too many. With an angry expression on her face the woman eyed Rose suspiciously.

"What is it, girl? What d'you want? It's not even bloody noon yet!"

"Um, I-I'm looking for the Doctor? He left us this address, he-" Rose stuttered under the woman's annoyed gaze.

"Doctor? Doctor who? You ain't finding any doctor here, lass. Couldn't afford one if I tried! Them people in the government, they're stealin' from us, I'm telling ya! Stealing our money!"

Rose's eyebrows shot up in confusion. Right. She's definitely not finding the Doctor here. He may have a girlfriend, but Rose strongly doubted that woman would meet the girlfriend criteria for a man like the Doctor. He's probably more into the beautiful-but-intelligent type, and probably a great deal younger, too.

Deciding to check the neighboring flats, she bid her goodbyes to the hungover redhead and knocked on the next door.

And then the next. And the next. No one in that building has ever heard of the Doctor.

She double checked and then triple checked the address with Marge on the phone, she tried his number again, all to no avail. No sign of the man, he's never lived there, that much was certain.

Then where did he live?  _Where_  was he? And, perhaps more importantly,  _who_  was he?

Doctor  _Who_ , indeed. Doctor-Nobody-Knows-Who, rather. What was she to do? She's gone back to the office, told her dad of her findings and they rung up all the hospitals in London, which took them hours upon hours, considering that the Doctor's name was a very common one. They spent hours on the phone and ended up with nothing to show for it; he was nowhere to be found.

That was when Pete came up with the idea of calling his mate, Jerry, who worked for some sort of a government agency. He asked him to look up John Smith, born on the day that the Doctor had written down as his birthday, and a quick scan later, they found out that there was no such person in the database. Or, there were four, but they looked nothing like  _their_  Doctor.

Meaning he has either never existed or provided them with fake information.

It was a difficult situation, and although Rose was (admittedly irrationally so) convinced that the Doctor wasn't in fact a con, her father jumped to the only right conclusion and decided that he must have been a spy for their rivaling company, stealing formulae for their upcoming soft drinks.

He promptly told Marge that Doctor John Smith has been fired and went back to work while Rose had to make her way to Henrik's, the store she's worked in.

And there and then began yet another dull day, even emptier than what she was already used to, because it was void of the mysterious man she has given one too many thoughts to ever since she first met him.

With no chance of finding him, too. What did she have to go by? A box. What  _is_  a box? How can you live in one? What else? Time Lord. She's already checked that one on the Internet, she did, and she's found nothing of interest. Some crazy conspiracy theories that had nothing to do with the Doctor.

Something could have happened to him, but Rose couldn't figure out how to find him. She truly knew  _nothing_  about him.

That didn't mean that she'd give up, though. Much too curious and concerned about the stranger, she spent the next few afternoons searching the streets of London for a sign of... Well, she didn't know exactly  _what_. For a sign of  _something different_. Because that's what the Doctor was. Different.

**~oOo~**

Two weeks have passed since Doctor John Smith was last seen at Vitex. Rose's dad, Pete, was constantly upset about not only losing his best employee but also finding out that the man was likely a spy, although persuaded by his daughter, he filed a police report about the missing scientist and even helped her when she went to hang some posters which included the photograph from his Vitex ID. Much like her, he had a hard time believing that the man would turn out to be a liar, but having been in the business for several years now, he knew better than to trust people blindly after they have failed him once.

For Rose, those two weeks were very strange. She was worried about him. Dreamt about him once, even; an insignificant, odd little scene. In the dream, she walked alongside him on a busy London street up until they reached a dead end, some sort of an abandoned alley. In that alley, on a gray wall, they found a peculiar graffiti; not really a drawing, just two simple words.

_Bad Wolf._

She drew his attention to it by pointing at it, and then the dream came to an end.

Why she'd even dream of the man, she had no idea, but the one thing she knew was that she was even more dissatisfied with her life now that she met a man who certainly knew how to enjoy his. Complete lunatic with all sorts of mad ideas, but brilliant and somehow  _free_. She felt drawn to it, she couldn't deny that, and suddenly the confines of Henrik's and Vitex felt more like a burden than ever before, invisible shackles which held her in place when all she wanted to do was to run. Pete looked at her with sadness in his eyes as she forced herself to do her usual work at his office, seemingly looking forward to nothing at all, not now and not in the distant future.

She could've used a good friend. She's got her mate Shareen, but Shar wasn't that great a friend, not really. Many times she'd use Rose to get ahead in life, many times did she take advantage of her, but not once did Rose hear a  _sorry_. So, yeah. She didn't really feel like hanging out with Shareen right at now.

Mickey has always been a good friend, but then they started up this whole relationship fiasco and that was done for, too.

Up until the evening two weeks after the Doctor's disappearance, when she walked towards the bus stop after work and ran into Mickey who, as usual, shot her an angry look.

Rose looked back at him, pang of sorrow in her heart, and she suddenly realized that people come and go, and you can never be sure when, or if, you will see them again. She took them for granted, she just  _assumed_  she'd see them again, but the Doctor disappeared, didn't he? He did, and it was that thought that spurred her on and made her act.

Instead of looking away and ignoring him the way she usually did, Rose decided it was about time at least  _one_  of them grew up. She walked over towards him, catching the young man completely off-guard.

She looked at him seriously and he almost shivered under her gaze, so with a fair bit of confidence she simply asked, "Mickey, what're we doing?"

"Huh?" her ex-boyfriend responded eloquently, completely surprised by the turn of the events.

"We're both grown ups, yeah? In  _theory_. We can't just go around town glaring at each other, can we?" she said in a firm tone, although her heart was racing. "We've always been good friends. We shouldn't have tried anything else."

At that, she waited for him to nod. With a slump of his shoulders, he sighed and finally did make a gesture of agreement, accepting the full truth of her statement. He was angry at her, that's right, but he wasn't angry about  _losing her_ , he was angry about being broken up with and losing a great friend. They'd both been very foolish, and who knows how long it would've went on if Rose didn't walk up to him that day.

"Let's be friends again, Mickey. I bet you're a proper mess now that there's no one around to fix you dinner on Sundays, so I ought to help you out before you starve," she said softly with a small smile and extended her hand for a handshake. After a moment of hesitation, Mickey smiled back and gladly accepted her gesture.

They went out to the pub to catch up. Mickey was alright, working his car mechanic job, had his eyes on a girl from the shop, Trisha. Rose filled him in on Vitex and her work, but did not mention anything about her love interests. Mostly because she's had none.

But then, he asked, "What about you, then? Any interesting blokes around?"

And it was funny, because all she could see or think of was the Doctor. She saw his brown eyes and messy hair as if he was right there with them. She recalled the way those eyes bore into hers as they parted ways, when he asked her  _"When will I see you again?"_  and she, strangely enough, wanted him to stop her.

But he didn't, and then he disappeared. And she did everything in her power, but she still couldn't find him.

"No," she said while sipping her drink, "None."

**~oOo~**

Another weekend went by and she came back to Vitex on Monday. She still found herself looking around hopefully as she made her way to the twentieth floor, and upon saying good morning to her dad, she went for a cuppa with Marge to start the day. She liked the older woman; Marge was smart, and Rose admired her for making her way through life despite not having her A levels. Seeing Marge do so well gave her some sort of hope for her own future, in a way.

Meanwhile, during the time the Doctor was gone, things at Vitex have gotten a little strange. Rose's dad would tell her everything in the evening at the dinner table and she's heard stories of missing equipment, people disappearing for a few hours and coming up with lame excuses for their absence, that sort of thing. Neither Rose or Marge had any clue as to what was going on, and both agreed that it was worrisome as they sipped on their tea, but didn't dwell on the subject. It was just yet another thing for Rose to wonder about. She felt as if everything around her was mysterious as of late; everything aside from herself.

"Marge," Rose said quietly after some chit-chat, "Where d'you think he's gone off to? The Doctor, I mean."

"I've got no clue, love," Marge responded in a sad tone. "But, between you and me, I don't think he was a con. He's a good lad, that John. He reminds me of my son. Mind you, Jeremy is younger, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah." Rose nodded and then shook her head. "I don't think so either. I mean, he's  _weird_  alright, but he didn't seem like a-"

"Didn't seem like a what?" A voice came from behind the door, effectively interrupting Rose and rendering her speechless. Moments later, a very familiar face showed up in the doorframe, followed by a wave of hand and an enthusiastic greeting. "Hello! Blimey, did I miss a tea party? I  _love_  a tea party! There was this one time on Yunar Six when I got trapped with a tea addict. But he'd only drink it warm, you see, which makes perfect sense, because who likes their tea cold? And we, we were trapped in a  _fridge_. And his species becomes murderous when they don't get their tea. That was rather... Unfortunate, I s'pose. Good ol' Kiren, he really did like his tea. Right, yes, hello!"

The Doctor waltzed right in, hands in his pockets, seemingly oblivious to the shock painted all over the faces of the two women that sat before him. Or, well, maybe not exactly  _sat._ After the initial shock wore off a little, Rose stood immediately and marched over to him, taking big, angered steps, pulled him by the lapels with an apparent fury, bringing their faces very close together. She did not intend to snog him senseless, though, even though (much to her dismay) that strange spark struck her the moment she came close to him.

She just wanted to shake some sense into that impossible, infuriating, careless, thoughtless  _idiot_. What on earth was he thinking?! He goes sauntering off somewhere, says not a word, and then comes back like nothing?! And to think she's gone and searched for him! Foolish, foolish Rose! Her dad was right, con or not, the man wasn't worth the time. Not at all.

"Err, hello Rose?" he repeated for the third time, looking down to meet her eyes as she looked up at him with a big frown, still holding on to the lapels of his brown suit jacket and refusing to let go.

"Where on earth have  _you_ been?! You do realize that you've been fired, right? Three weeks!  _Three weeks_  you've been gone for!  _Three weeks_ , no sign of you! And then you just come marching in like that, d'you? I was-" she trailed off, losing her confidence for a brief moment, " _We_ were worried about you!"

His eyes widened, brow furrowed as he eyed Rose in confusion, still making no attempt at moving away from her. His eyes drifted up to the ceiling for a moment as if he was deep in thought, then traveled back down to lock on hers.

"Of course I realized that! No, wait-" he said, frown deepening, "Did you say I was fired? But  _why_?! Rose, I've been working hard! Spent a whole four and a half minutes fixing a faulty pipe! And did some science-y things. That too. Wait wait wait. Did you say  _three weeks_?"

"Yes!  _Three_!" she exclaimed, letting go of his jacket and giving his chest a little push. She couldn't believe the cheek on that man. Showing up back at Vitex and playing dumb? That's not gonna work with her, not a chance.

"Oh. Oh, that's... That's... Odd? Yes, odd. But-but-"

"Don't try to excuse yourself, Doctor. You've been fired, yeah? Dad's well fed up with you! So am I, if you care to know!"

"I didn't realize that it's been three weeks, Rose. I meant to come back the next day! There are things here, you see, things I need to..." He trailed off again and ran his fingers through his, sadly still very gorgeous, hair.

"Yeah? You  _meant_  to come back? And then what? You got lost on the way, did you? For three weeks!" Rose exclaimed, arms crossed over her chest. She was aware that she was starting to sound dangerously like her mum, but she couldn't help it. The Doctor had an easy time making her angry, especially when she was genuinely worried about him and he played it off as nothing.

Not that he owed her something or anything, no, 'course not. But it's called  _common decency_. He should go and get himself some of that.

"Sort of, yeah!" He smiled which only annoyed her even more, because it  _was_  a rather brilliant smile. "I'll tell you later. I've got to go get my job back. Back in a mo!"

With that, he waltzed right out of the room just the same way he came in, leaving Rose and Marge staring at one another in shock, the former shivering from anger.

So many hours spent worrying about him, about this, this  _idiotic_  stranger, and what? And nothing!

Underneath all her fury, she felt grateful to see him safe and sound, but she would never let that show. No, the moment when he stepped out of that office, Rose would give him a piece of her mind until he finally proved answers to all of her nagging questions. Where he was, what he was doing at Vitex, and the whole Powell Estate thing.  _Everything_. EVERYTHING.

* * *

She waited right outside her dad's office until the Doctor came out about five minutes later, perfectly pleased and smug. He flashed her his Vitex ID and said no more.

"No. Did dad seriously hire you  _again_? What did you do?" Rose asked, dumbfounded enough to lose her frown for a moment.

"I'm just brilliant! And clever. Yup. Right, back to work. I heard there's been things going missing, isn't that right? In the lift, I bet. It's the lift, Rose. Mark my words.  _Don't_  use the lift." With that, he started walking away.

"Oh, no you don't!" she exclaimed, pulling his coat and stopping him in his steps. He turned around to face her, eyebrows raised, ambiguous expression on his face, silently asking a question:  _What is it_?

"You're gonna tell me where you've been. And where you live. And why you've been gone. And why things are goin' missing. And you're going to tell me  _now_ ," she demanded, determined not to let him go until he  _did_  tell her.

Not that she wanted to let him go. In all fairness, she was happy, really happy to see him again, but considering his aloof demeanor, she had to stay guarded and not reveal her true emotions.

"How long did you say it's been?" he asked instead of addressing her questions.

"Three weeks!  _Three weeks_ , no sign of you!"

"Oh... Blimey, my TARDIS must have missed the mark. By a bit. A tiny tiny bit! We've gotten in a bit of trouble, my ship and I. She's still recovering."

"Your  _what_?"

"My TARDIS! Time And Relative Dimension In Space!" He smiled proudly, then realized that Rose had no idea what he was talking about, so he clarified, "My, err, my  _box_. You know, I told you. I live in a box. Of sorts."

"Look at you, you've got this whole story all figured out, don't you? You've even made up a name for the thing," she commented, shaking her head and trying hard not to smile.

"Oh, no," he protested, "That's not me. I didn't come up with the name."

"No? So there's more lunatics like you out there?" she half-joked, but to her surprise, his expression instantly fell and his eyes drifted away from her face, down onto the floor. Before he did look away, though, she registered a very brief hint of hurt in his countenance, so strong that it couldn't have been mistaken for anything else, and she instantly regretted yelling at him, although she couldn't say why.

"No. There are none like me."

He remained silent after that. She still held on to the sleeve of his coat, squeezing it tighter, surprised by the amount of emotion that poured into his voice. He was usually very loud and a tad insane, the Doctor, but what if it was all just an act?

Doesn't explain where he's been, though. No, it doesn't. But Rose couldn't help feeling sorry for him, 'cos no matter what's happened, it must have taken its toll on him.

When she spoke next, her voice was considerably softer.

"Blimey, I was gonna tell you off, I was," she said, "But now, I don't even feel like it anymore. You're good at this, you are."

He chuckled and finally looked up, meeting her eyes bravely as if trying to read her mind. He regarded her for a moment before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry. That you were-" much like her, he froze mid-sentence and transformed it into something more casual, "That  _everybody_  was worried. I didn't mean to. I ran into some trouble. It's just... Sort of what I do? Yup! And I, err, I had no means of coming back. Although, time machine, but as I said, my ship got a little, weeell, damaged. She'll be all fine, though! She's a tough thing, my TARDIS."

Rose finally let go of his sleeve then shook her head and said, "You're bonkers, Doctor."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"No," she retorted despite the resounding  _yes_  she had in mind.

He smiled at her knowingly. In his eyes, she still saw a hint of pain, and she realized that whatever he's been through, it must have been painful. She gave him a playful smack on the shoulder.

"Get back to work, Doctor Smith, or you're gonna get fired again."

All of her anger has somehow subsided, now that he was there before her. He was still the same fascinating, infuriating Doctor, and he was alright. She and him would likely never be friends, but she still wanted to unveil the mystery step by step if she'd have the means to do so.

"Right, yes, of course," he said, turned around on the spot and started walking away, but before he walked more than three steps, he turned back towards her. "Come with me? It's boring, all this, this science and all. Mind you, science is  _brilliant_ , but not on a planet like Earth. You lot, you're still very, weeell, primitive. I didn't mean you!" he quickly exclaimed upon seeing a fresh spark of anger in her eyes.

"Primitive, you say? Well, at least I don't go missin' for  _three weeks_  and let people worry about me! You're rude, Doctor, 's what you are."

"Rude? I'm not rude! Or am I?"

"You are," she said with a shake of her head, trying to indicate that he was a lost cause.

"So you've been looking for me, then?" he asked out of the blue, bringing a very faint blush upon her cheeks. She was an idiot to admit to it, even if indirectly. Should've watched her tongue better, but well, too late now.

"We've  _all_  been looking for you," she evaded the question, "And I rang you, yeah. Repeatedly. But you gave us the wrong number, didn't you? And the address! Why'd you say you lived at the Powell Estate?"

He swallowed thickly, looked up at the ceiling and rubbed the back of his neck in an awkward gesture.

"Err, I just, picked out an address at random. Or weeeell, not me. My ship did it for me! And the phone, no, the phone was fine. But I never pick it up. Too busy, you see!"

"Right, everybody's worrying about him and he's too  _busy_  to pick up the phone!" Rose said sarcastically.

"Plenty to do. The universe needs me. 'sides, it's boring to just sit around watching the telly as you lot do!"

"D'you talk to everyone like this? I mean, all this mad stuff, the whole T...  _TARDIS_ thing and all?" she asked in disbelief. How was the man not locked up yet? Even if she was starting to believe him in some small way. He was just too odd to not be different, somehow.

"No," he said softly, "Not everyone."

Rose raised her eyebrows and parted her lips slightly. She caught him look down as she did that, down to her mouth, very very briefly, and then back to her eyes.

And there it was. That spark, again, so unexplainable and so very  _real_.

And she didn't know what else to say. She wanted to do something, but she'd never ever try. The man was trouble, and she ought to stay out of trouble, live her calm life day to day just as she's always been.

Well, the least she can do is keep him company as he goes back down to the lab. Then she'd make her way up here and spend time with her dad. And not think of the Doctor. What's there to think of?

"Right, I'll take you down to the lab so you don't go missin' again," she said after clearing her throat and looking away from him. She walked right past him, leading him down to his floor, wanting to perhaps ask him a question or two, reassuring herself that he really  _did_  make his way back to Vitex from wherever it was that he ran off to, just prolonging their time spent together by a little while.

As the lift arrived at the exact same moment she passed it by, she stepped inside without a thought, her mind preoccupied with other things.

"No, Rose! Not the-" he shouted, reaching out to grab her arm, but it was too late. "Not the lift! ROSE!"

The sliding door slid shut in his face, scaring Rose slightly. She quickly pressed the button that would normally open the little metal box, but it didn't work. She started pushing the buttons frantically, each and every one of them, but that didn't help either. She heard the Doctor buzzing his sonic... What was it? Screwdriver? His  _sonic screwdriver_  on the outside, muttering under his breath.

"No! No, no, this is  _not_  good. I've been gone for too long! It's  _ready_! Rose, you've got to get out!"

"How?! The bloody thing's all locked up!" she shouted, banging on the door helplessly.

"Hold on!" he shouted back and the buzzing noise intensified, but after just a few seconds of this, the lift started shaking and the alarm noise blared in their ears, much like the day they first met.

"Doctor, it's-it's  _shaking_! Get me out of here!" Rose screamed in sudden panic. She wasn't terribly afraid of the lift the first time this happened, but now she felt terrified.

"I'm trying! It's deadlocked!"

"It's what?!"

" _Deadlocked_! Never mind that, we've got to get you out of-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence, because the lift started rapidly plummeting down and Rose fell down with it, much faster than the first time the lift  _broke_. She hid her head in her knees as she slumped to the ground, and when she looked up mere seconds later, the floor counter said she was on floor number -4189.

"Doctor!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, but heard no response.

"Rose!" he screamed thousands of stories above her, in vain trying to open the damn lift until it suddenly budged, as if whatever force controlled the lift wanted to bring him down with her.

Without a second thought, the Doctor fished out a safety rope from one of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets and tied the knot tightly around his waist before attaching it to a wheel of sorts, which he then tied to the metal line that pulled the lift.

Thinking no more of it, he jumped down into shaft, with nothing but a regular rope keeping him from falling to his death, determined to rescue Rose no matter the cost.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm sooo sorry for the late update. I don't intend to update this rarely and I'm very sure the next chapter won't take half as long. I've just had busy evenings, and that is when I get to write. :(

I know this seems like more of an adventure kind of thing so far, but I assure you there will be  _tons_  of fluff. I just think this story will turn out a lot longer than I originally anticipated, as they still don't know each other that well...

Thank you so much for your feedback, and let me know what you like/hate so that I can improve! ^_^ See you soon!

P.S. How do you feel about a chapter from the Doctor's PoV? Yes or no? Let me know!


	4. Lost and Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor sets out to rescue Rose. Where do they end up?

_"Doctor!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, but heard no response._

_"Rose!" he shouted thousands of stories above her, in vain trying to open the damn lift until it suddenly budged, as if whatever force controlled it wanted to bring him down with her._

_Thinking no more of it, he jumped down the shaft, with nothing but a rope keeping him from falling to his death, determined to rescue Rose no matter the cost._

* * *

It took him about twelve floors to figure out that making his way down like this was just inefficient, impossible, fine,  _improbable_  without alien technology, which obviously was at work in this situation. Rose needed help, she needed it  _now_ , and if he had to make his way thousands of floors down, so very close to the core of the Earth, he'd need his ship.

Reaching the basement at Vitex, the Doctor wasn't surprised to find that the elevator shaft did not come to an end there. It went on for thousands of feet deep into the ground, but the people who worked at the company could not see it due to a defense mechanism similar to that of his TARDIS, the chameleon circuit. Of course, this was a much inferior system, so his eyes easily spotted the trickery.

He unhooked the rope and as soon as his feet landed on the tiled floor, he began to run without a moment's hesitation. Rose Tyler was in danger, and for whatever reason, that bothered the Doctor so much more than any other danger he had ever gotten himself into, and there'd been a lot of  _that_  in his past, recently more so than usual. He'd grown reckless, careless with his life, feeling as though he had nothing left to lose. There was nothing to hold on to, no one to mourn him if he died.

His TARDIS, his rather  _magnificent_  spaceship, was parked just around the corner in the basement. All he'd have to do would be to lock on to any life forms below the ground level and materialize his ship there.

That is, if Rose was still...

Of course she  _was_. No question there, Doctor! She had to be.

He barely knew her. He knew a few things. Just a few. For one, she was often angry at him. Two, she looked at him as if he was some sort of a mad man, which in all fairness probably wasn't too far off, was it? Nope! Three, she was so... So... So  _lovely_  that his two superior Time Lord hearts couldn't quite keep up when she was in his presence. Just, weeell, beating a tad too fast.

A bit.

It was new. It was odd. It was life when... When all he knew was death.

He pushed his musings aside as he locked onto the coordinates and sent his ship straight down the elevator shaft, all the way to where Rose Tyler was. He only came to London, to this company, to investigate this very thing, the evil force that had now kidnapped the innocent young woman. The Doctor didn't know the reason behind Rose being taken, but the thing that truly mattered was ensuring her safety. Finding out the reasons could have been done later.

His TARDIS landed with a thud, and the screen showed him that he was in a cavern of sorts, a very warm one at that. Without a second thought, he rushed outside only to be hit by a wave of overwhelming heat. Not surprising, if one were to consider where he'd been; nearly at the core of the planet, that's where. And Rose, Rose was out there, too.

His mind raced. The TARDIS sent him down here, but he couldn't see Rose anywhere. Checking the area with his sonic and finding nothing, he realized that he'd really have to hurry. He was a Time Lord, his body temperature was cooler than a human's, and if the heat was nearly unbearable to him, it would soon be deadly to Rose.

_Rose_!

"ROSE!" he shouted as he removed his coat, threw it inside the TARDIS and started to run in a random direction. She had to be out there somewhere, and he'd just have to find her.

Everything around him was bright red and steaming. There should be no air to breathe with, and yet there he was, able to both breathe and run. His eyes quickly caught on to the fact that this cavern was not natural; no, whoever came to this planet had prepared themselves this little nest for their own use. What were they after? Where would they have taken Rose?

The thought of the danger she undoubtedly was in sent him plummeting into a state of extreme anxiety and fear, two things he rarely ever felt. It was all his fault, everything,  _all_  of it. He came to Vitex to try and protect them from danger, but then he returned much too late. He should have triple checked the coordinates when he made his way back to London.

He meant to stop this while it was still growing; instead, he'd have to trample it when it was ready and, by the looks of it, capable of expanding across the whole planet. The cavern was  _massive_! Impressive, really, if you think of it, what trouble some races go through to take control of this little piece of rock floating in the solar system. This little Level 5 planet, still very insignificant at this point in its timeline, but oh, the Earth will be  _important_! The cradle of humanity, and they will spread out across the stars, they will.

But only if he stopped whatever was happening right now.

"Rose!" he tried again, but all that answered him was his own echo.

He took out his sonic and scanned the area for signals of life. He found none, which could mean two things: she wasn't quite there, or she was...

No. She  _couldn't_  be.

"Go on, go on, go on! She's got to be here. Go on!" he pleaded as he scanned one of the walls of the cavern until the readings changed. There was something behind that wall...

A change of setting on the sonic screwdriver and the door slid open, revealing a secret room, in the middle of which stood a very big cauldron, and next to it, tied to a chair that looked as if it belonged in a spaceship, was an unconscious Rose Tyler.

He disregarded it all, the danger, the possible enemy, and he rushed towards her. Before long his hand cupped her cheek and soon enough he raised her face to check if she was breathing while his other hand checked her wrist for a pulse.

She was alive. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief and set her free using the sonic as he pondered his options. He needed to get her into the TARDIS -  _immediately_. But to leave her alone in this place in order to bring the ship around wasn't even an option. No, he'd have to carry her.

He took her unconscious form in his arms as he struggled in vain to quiet his racing hearts. It was all stupid, foolish, undignified, it was  _very wrong_  for a Time Lord to feel that way. He didn't know her. He didn't know her at all.

But for that short moment, as the smooth skin of her bare arms felt burning hot against his hands, he forgot that he barely knew her. He forgot where they were. He forgot everything but the sensation of carrying this perfect stranger in his arms, the memory of her small smile, the kindness in her eyes when she looked at him after his admission of there being  _no one else like him_.

And then, just like that, the moment passed.

And they were still in danger. The fact that he was allowed to find her so easily must have meant that...

That whoever stood behind this plan  _wanted_  him to find her. And that couldn't have meant anything good.

A sudden noise made him turn his head in a different direction, and there, in a glass capsule, he saw Marge. Yes, Marge, the secretary from Vitex, and right next to her was Robert, a man he worked with in the lab, and then three more people from the company.

What was this all about? Just  _how_  late to the party was he?

Rose breathed uneasily in his arms, the temperature of her body unusually high. He had to get her to the TARDIS, but there were the others to worry about too, not to mention whoever was behind the plan. The Doctor was still yet to put together all the pieces of this confusing puzzle, even though he felt as if he should have made sense of it all by now.

It was then that he spotted a red, bubbly liquid that was getting pumped directly into the glass tubes in which the Vitex employees were trapped. He rushed to the so called cages with Rose still in his arms, then set her down gently to try and sonic the tube open. He did not manage to do so, it must have been deadlocked.

"What is this? Show yourself!" he shouted angrily.

"We need a new planet. This will be our new home," a voice came from behind him. He immediately turned around and crouched by Rose to defend her, then scanned the area until his eyes landed on a person in a white lab coat.

They resembled a human well enough, but it was still easy to tell that it was just a deception, much like the hidden underground path in the basement. The person's skin had a decidedly red hue, the texture of it was too uneven for a human, and as they extended their hand, a ball of fire appeared in their palm.

The Doctor immediately recognized the stranger to be an Iturian, descendant of an ancient race whose planet had been destroyed during the Time War, and as he made that discovery, everything slowly began to fall into place.

"This planet is inhabited," the Doctor said calmly, "By a brilliant race! Humans. At the very beginning of their journey to the stars! You wouldn't have heard of them yet, not at this point in your timeline, but you  _will_. Soon enough. What are you doing to them? What have you done to Rose?" he demanded as he wrapped an arm around Rose in a protective gesture.

"I am alone. I investigate. They are test subjects," the Iturian replied, "I researched. Start from here... Humans drink the improved mixture... And they will become like  _us_. Together, we will rebuild our empire... Lost in the War... Destroyed by your people...  _Time Lord_." he spat out the last two words.

The Doctor's hearts clenched. He knew all too well how many grand races fell during the Time War. If only he could turn back time...

But he  _couldn't_. There was no way back. The only thing for him to do now would be to save the Earth in any way he possibly could.

He came to Vitex because something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it, not when he first arrived. It was a slow process and he missed the development of it, coming in for the grand finale, but he was able to piece it all back together after hearing what he had just heard. Iturians, having barely survived the Time War in very small numbers, found themselves a new planet and lived on, but this one must have gotten stranded.

Vitex drinks were very popular all over Britain - why, the Doctor couldn't fathom, they were positively  _disgusting_  - and after some adjustments, Iturian DNA would be passed on to the humans who drank Vitex soda, turning them into a similar, if slightly inferior, race. That way, the more people would have been changed, the more the Iturian army would grow, finally expanding all over the planet.

The red liquid slowly seeped into the glass tubes in which Marge and the others were imprisoned, and the Iturian appeared to be moved by that. His eyes shifted from the Doctor to the others and back and forth, an expression of unease painted all over his face. Fiddling with a strange remote in his hand, he seemed to be holding himself back from stopping the whole process.

The Doctor knew enough of the alien's race to know that they were... They were  _peaceful_. And only when pushed to desperation would they act the way the alien was just then, but he didn't  _need_  to. He would help him, he would save the Earth, and nobody would die that night.

"What's your name?" he asked simply.

"Jin'lar."

"Alright, Jin'lar, listen to me. Just  _listen_. You don't have to do this. No, really, you  _don't_! Your race never fought a single war, not even one, and you plan an invasion? These humans, these brilliant beings, they will lose their lives, their homes, their entire  _future_  because of you. That's not something you want to live the rest of your life with. Trust me."

His words sank in. The alien eyed him with a look of regret as his human disguise slowly dissipated, showing his true form.

"We need to live on," Jin'lar said as he looked at the Doctor in desperation. The Iturian despised Time Lords, every last one of them, but somehow, this man was different.

"And you will. Oh, you  _will_! Your race lives on, Jin'lar, and I can take you to them. Your people, some of them survived, and they found a new planet. You are stranded away from home, but I can help you. This is not the way.  _Definitely_  not."

As he said that, Rose suddenly opened her eyes and blinked in confusion. His eyes immediately fell towards her and soon he locked his gaze with hers. He finally released the breath he didn't even know he had been holding and then smiled widely at her, but before he managed to say a word, the alien spoke up.

"Why should I trust the likes of you, Time Lord!" the Iturian exclaimed, half-desperate, half-angry.

"Doctor? What's goin' on?" Rose uttered as she propped herself up on her elbows, carefully supported by the Doctor's arm around her shoulder. He should've let go, he really should have, but he couldn't bring himself to. They were still in of danger. And, weeell, letting go of her may have somehow seemed  _unpleasant_ , but that was a different story entirely.

She looked up at him and he silently begged her not to look away, but she did, and seconds later she noticed her surroundings, finally resting her eyes on the Iturian. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open, and the Doctor half expected her to scream in shock or fear, but much to his surprise, she didn't.

"What-what is  _that_? Blimey, have I hit my head or what?" she gasped and he had to stifle a chuckle as he forced his eyes away from Rose and onto Jin'lar.

"Why should you trust me? Weeell, that's a good question, very good! But I will tell you why: because I lost everything. I ended the Time War. I tried to save your planet-I tried to save  _so many_ \- but I... I couldn't. Not all of them. Not yours." he paused, looking the alien straight in the eyes. "And I'm so, so sorry. Allow me to help you. I know where your people are, we could... We could get there. I have a ship, my, err, my spaceship, a rather  _brilliant_  one at that! Just let go of the prisoners and leave this planet, because it is  _defended_. And I will not let any human being suffer, Jin'lar. I  _won't_."

As the Doctor's eyes remained fixed on the Iturian, Rose struggled to stand up. He jumped up to his feet and helped her, keeping his arm firmly planted across her shoulder to keep her steady. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her look around in fear, and although he squeezed her arm in a reassuring gesture, it was not the right time to do more than that. He kept his attention solely on Jin'lar.

"As if  _you_  have a say in that, Time Lord! You save the humans, but you didn't save my people! We live on, you say, we  _live on_! What about the millions that perished in the Time War?" Jin'lar exclaimed in anger, pacing back and forth in front of the cauldron.

"Doctor," he heard Rose whisper in a tone of urgency, but his gaze remained on Jin'lar.

"Don't you think I would have saved my own people if I could? Don't you think I would have saved them  _all_? I had no choice!" his voice grew desperate as he shouted. Memories flooded his mind like so many times before, nearly overpowering him with the pain they caused him. Living with the blood of millions on his hands was so difficult, so very hard, and it was a burden he had to carry all on his own ever since the Time War.

He wished he could have saved them. He would gladly give up his own life a thousand times over to save even one of the souls that were lost in the War. But he couldn't. He couldn't turn back time, not on this, not ever.

"Doctor, look at the-"

Rose tried to warn him, but it was too late. The cauldron from which the red liquid was being pumped started shaking violently as pieces of shrapnel began falling from the ceiling of the cavern. An earthquake, an eruption,  _something_ shook the whole area, and the consequences could be disastrous for all of them.

His arm around Rose immediately tightened its grip as his eyes traveled towards the five trapped Vitex workers. Thousands of possibilities ran through his head, calculations, all sorts of different options, but he failed to anticipate what was about to happen.

Jin'lar, upon seeing the disaster, grew even more desperate. In his anger, he shouted, "You are right, Time Lord. I will spare the humans, for they do not deserve the fate my people were given!"

He pressed a button on his remote as he said that, and the five humans were seemingly teleported out of their glass cages, leaving only the Doctor and Rose. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief, but the alien used their distraction against them.

"But you-" he cried, "You will go down with me, if it's the last thing I do! To avenge my planet!"

Before the Doctor was given a moment to register it, Jin'lar spawned a ball of fire in his palm and launched it towards the Time Lord, which left the Doctor with next to no time to react.

"No!" Rose screamed as she pushed him down to the ground with all of her remaining strength, bringing the two of them to down, with her fall being less painful as she landed, wellll,  _on top_  of him.

_Oh._

His eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up as he looked right at her, but their gaze was quickly broken by yet another turn of events. The ball of fire which was aimed at him hit a wall, starting a chain reaction which combined with the shaking increased the amount of shrapnel falling from the ceiling of the cavern by tenfold. Both of them turned their eyes to Jin'lar upon hearing him scream out in agony, and the Doctor's hearts clenched when he saw that the Iturian had been crushed to death by a large boulder.

Yet another needless loss of life. The fact that Jin'lar tried to kill him did not mean that the Doctor would have wanted this, no, he hoped to save the Iturian and take him home to his people, but it was not meant to be. The alien was undoubtedly dead - not many species could sustain such weight, definitely not one of that race. Regardless of this, Rose was still in danger, so the Doctor forced himself back into action. He  _had_  to save her.

He wriggled himself out from under her weight (perhaps  _a little_  reluctantly. Just a bit, not very, just a  _tad._ Yup.), he jumped to his feet and helped Rose up, then grabbed her hand tightly. And again, he felt that odd sensation, almost like fire scorching not his skin, but warming him up from the inside. What was it? What did it mean?

_No, no time for that_. They had to go.

"Run!" he shouted, pulling at her hand.

She nodded at him very briefly and followed him as the pieces of rock falling from the ceiling missed their exposed bodies by mere inches. They had to get to the TARDIS and they had to hurry, even though he could tell that she was struggling to keep up, undoubtedly exhausted by the heat and the whole experience, but they had to keep moving. His ship wasn't all too far.

After slaloming for what felt like far too long, he finally spotted the TARDIS in the distance.

"What is that?!" Rose shouted behind him, panting in her extortion.

"My ship! My TARDIS! Go on! Keep running, Rose!"

"We're just gonna die in there, Doctor! Where on earth is the way out of this place?!" she demanded as they reached his ship.

"Oh, I dare say we're going to be just fine," he said as he unlocked the door to the TARDIS, "Yup! Brilliant, even! You see, I work best when I don't have a plan. Although, this one  _may_  have been more thanks to you, but-"

He casually strode inside his ship with her following suit, and only as he heard a small gasp did he realize that she had never been inside the TARDIS before. For some reason, he felt as if he'd known her for a much, much longer amount of time, and he felt as if she... As if she belonged there, with him, up in the stars.

At that moment, he already knew. He knew that he would ask her. Did he ever really have a choice?

And she as good as saved his life, mere moments ago. She, a human girl who didn't believe a single word he said until the truth behind them was forced upon her in this manner. She who could have died if they didn't make it back to his ship safely, or rather if she didn't save him first.

_Rose_.

He turned around and observed her in silence. He knew enough about humans to know that she would need a moment, that it would take her a minute to compose her thoughts, to ask him a question or two. In the meantime, she stood at the entrance to the TARDIS, the door now safely closed behind her, and he could almost feel the heat radiating from her body as she looked left and right in complete shock.

"Are you alright?" he broke the silence as he eyed her with concern.

"It's bigger on the inside," she muttered in disbelief, ignoring his question.

"Weeell, yes. You might say that," he grinned, but his grin mostly served to conceal his worry for her. He wanted to run to her - to hold her, to make sure she would be fine - but it did not feel right, and he didn't think she would have wanted it. No matter his own impressions, for human standards they were still a pair of strangers bound together by, err,  _unusual_  circumstances.

"You said you lived in a box," Rose said blankly as she finally forced her gaze to focus on him.

"Yup. This is where I live."

" _Here_? I mean, underground? How did we even get here? I can't remember anything..." she said as she brought her hands to her head, rubbing her temples in confusion.

Slowly, carefully, he finally decided to approach her. He had to ease her into it, but most of all, he had to make sure that she did not suffer any serious damage. He stopped two steps away from her and observed her intently, but she did not look back at him. Her eyes drifted down to the ground, and moments later, she closed them.

"No. Not  _here_. Err, my ship, it can... Travel. Through time-"

"And space?"

"And space."

Silence fell for a moment as his words sank in. She swayed slightly, but steadied herself without his help.

"You're not human," she stated, repeating what he had already told her before.

"No."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Is that alright?" he finally asked anxiously.

Why did his hearts skip a beat as he awaited her answer with baited breath? Why did it matter?  _Why_  did he care?

He didn't know why. He only knew that he did, in fact, care. A whole lot more than he deemed appropriate.

"Yeah," she answered after a whole minute, finally looking up to meet his gaze. "Yeah, it's... It's..."

The Doctor bore his eyes into hers as awaited the end of that sentence, but it never came. Rose's eyes fell shut and she lost her balance, nearly falling down onto the grated floor of his ship. Nearly, because he caught her just in time. His fingers briefly brushed her forehead. It was burning hot.

And that was when he realized that he truly had no time to lose. She saved him just minutes ago, and although he couldn't save Jin'lar, he  _would_  save Rose. He certainly would save Rose.

**~oOo~**

He regarded her sleeping face in silence, knowing that it probably wasn't the right thing to do. The right thing to do would be to leave the TARDIS to monitor her and to leave the infirmary; that way, he would be certain that she wouldn't feel scared or even angry at seeing him there when she woke up. But he couldn't bring himself to go, so he remained, watching over her as she slept.

She was stable; Jin'lar didn't have enough time to cause her any real damage. He also checked on the five Vitex employees and found that they were all fine and had no memory of what had transpired. He talked them into taking the day off by babbling on and on about the flu, the viruses and how it is very, very unsafe to be walking about when possibly being contagious, because no one wants to catch the flu, now do they? Not to mention that the common flu once destroyed a whole empire, it did! Not on Earth, mind you, but-

Yup. He stopped there, because the looks they gave him were borderline terrified. So, he managed that all fine. Nobody knew anything.

Would Rose remember anything?

Would she remember the look they shared as the sky started falling down? Did she feel it too, that strange sensation when he held her hand as they ran?

He shook his head. That didn't matter. She just had to wake up.

Two hours passed before she finally stirred. He held his breath as her eyes fluttered open, not for the first time finding himself quite dazed in her presence.

To be fair, Rose  _was_  rather, err, lovely. Not that it concerned him in any way, just-

"Doctor?"

Rose broke his inner musings, bringing him back to reality. Her eyes wide open, she looked at him as intently as she could given her groggy state.

"Good morning! Or weeell, evening. Or afternoon. Up to you. It's a tad relative, you see."

"Where are we?" She first propped herself up on her elbows and then finally sat up properly on the cot in the infirmary. Her eyes drifted from one object to another, taking it all in, before refocusing her gaze on him.

"We're on the TARDIS. My, err, my  _box_ ," he clarified needlessly.

"Looks like some sort of a, I dunno, hospital?" She scrunched her nose as she surveyed the area. "Are you alright?"

He chuckled, but deep down inside, he felt strangely soothed by the knowledge that she even cared to ask.

"Yup. Brilliant! But you, Rose Tyler, you sort of  _passed out_. For a while. Nothing major, a little overheating. Weak human constitution, you lot can't handle heat, not as well as a Time Lord! But now, two hours under the temperature adjusters and you are all better."

"And Marge and them...?"

"All fine. Told them to take the day off. They don't remember anything, so it's probably best if-"

"Oh, I won't be telling anyone, that's for sure. They'd all think I'm completely bonkers, just like you. I'd get tossed into the loony bin, I would," she grumbled which made him grin very widely. She remembered everything, then.

Wait, was that a good thing or a bad thing? It  _could_  be pretty bad. Or-

"So you weren't just saying things, then?"

The Doctor frowned as he looked at her in confusion. What was she talking about?

"I mean, you weren't just making it up, were you? All the... Time Lords and things, that stuff."

"Oh. No, no I wasn't."

"What were you doin' working for my dad, then? Bit odd, that."

He thought for a moment and then said in a forlorn voice, "I knew that something was about to happen, but I didn't come back in time to stop it. I'm sorry. It's my fault that you were in danger."

Her expression softened considerably as a small smile appeared on her face.

"'s not. I mean, you're  _completely_  mad alright, but you're not  _bad_. Don't beat yourself up, Doctor. 'sides, I'm okay, yeah?"

"Of course. More than  _okay_ , in fact you're rather lovel-err, no, I mean, yes,  _definitely_! Very okay, yup." He started tugging on his ear awkwardly as he averted her stare, then he remembered about a herbal medicine from a planet he recently visited. He thought it'd be best if Rose drank some of it to lower her temperature completely back to normal, so he took a bottle of it from the shelf and poured some of the sticky liquid onto a tablespoon.

"What's that?" she asked with a small frown.

"Something to lower your temperature. Bit too high, that, so I thought..." he trailed off, stuck between handing her the spoon and just feeding it to her. Wait. That would be a bit, weeell,  _weird_ , wouldn't it? Yes. Definitely. He gave it to her as if it was on fire and cleared his throat as she eyed the liquid suspiciously.

"Is it safe?"

"Of course it is! Rose, who do you take me for?" he exclaimed in indignation.

"Someone who's completely bonkers, that's who. Wouldn't be surprised if you mixed up the bottles and gave me, I dunno, bleach?" she mumbled, "I can trust you though, yeah?"

Her eyes bore into his and although he may have been wrong, he thought that there  _may_  have been more to the question than she initially let on. That maybe it wasn't only about the herbal medicine from the twin planet of Raxacoricofallapatorious, Clom. That maybe he wasn't a  _complete_  stranger to her, not anymore.

"What d'you think?" he answered with a question. He enjoyed the warmth in her eyes, a glimmer of trust or so he liked to think, and as he looked at her then, he wanted to get to know her better. Only one way to do that, he thought.

"I think I can," she said with a smile and gulped down the medicine. "Blimey! It's disgusting, that stuff!"

He laughed out loud at her expression, already dreading the moment he'd have to let her go.

Unless...

* * *

He hated it, but he knew he'd have to take her home. He delayed the moment of asking her in his fear of rejection. It was odd, really. Ever since the war, he... He was on his own, and slowly, he began to think that maybe that's how it's meant to be. A punishment for his crimes, if you will. But then he met Rose Tyler, and his opinion rapidly changed.

Upon her request, he took her to a nice, green, lush area near her home. She said she could use a little walk. It was a cloudless, starry night, and as they stepped out of the TARDIS, she looked around in disbelief.

"It worked," she mumbled as a brilliant, genuine smile lit up her whole countenance.

He could almost feel life seep into his tired mind as he observed her, so young and so very lovely, so human, so brave, so curious, so kind.

They were atop a small hill. She stood, looking all around until she threw her head back and turned her eyes towards the stars. He walked over to her, pretending to look in the same general direction, but his eyes never left her face; she seemed to be so full of wonder, and to see that wonder through her was something he so badly wanted to do again.

If he could see the universe through  _her_ eyes - if he could just be around her - would it be so wrong? He didn't deserve it, surely not. This lonely life was his punishment, a price he had to pay, a debt that was meant to last until the end of his days.

But was he  _completely_  unworthy of her? Or rather, if he could keep her safe, if he could spend every waking moment trying to conjure that look of pure delight that seemed to make her shine like a thousand suns, if he spent every single day trying to make her happy, would he become the least bit deserving of her company?

Maybe.

He hoped so.

"Rose..." he began, his hearts all the way up in his throat. He felt anxious like a teenage human, and it was very, very undignified and he should be ashamed.

He wasn't. Not really.

"So you've been to them, then?" she interrupted him with a small smile as she tilted her chin towards the midnight blue sky, indicating the stars.

He released his hitched breath and responded, "Yup. A whole lot of them."

"Is this what you do? Just, y'know, travel around and the like?"

"Weeell, yes. For the most part. Apart from when I get stuck somewhere, like I did recently. Odd story, that! I went to this, err, planet that was under attack, and-"

"You're not coming back to Vitex, are you?" she cut him off again. He noted the change in her countenance; her face fell and he could only wonder about the cause.

"Not very likely. You see, I-" he trailed off, pondering what to say, how much to tell her. "I never really  _stay_. I don't... I don't like it. Not much."

She sighed. She turned her eyes towards him and said, "I envy you, really. I've got my whole future planned out for me, yeah? I didn't get anywhere in life, and I'm jus' gonna be stuck at Vitex. My dad loves this company, he does, but I just sort of... Wanted something of my own? Y'know?" He nodded. "Well. Not happening."

"You see, that's the brilliant thing about you lot," he said as he slipped his hands into his pockets and forced his gaze away from her, onto the sky. "You've got all those possibilities. Options. Dreams! Oh, you humans have so many dreams, don't you? And they  _may_  come true. That's the best part."

"I haven't got any, not really. I don't know what to do with myself," she admitted sadly.

His hearts sank. He barely knew her, yet he felt as if he knew her so well, and if there was one thing in the universe that he wanted, just  _one_ , it was to get to know her better.

"You could come with me," he finally blurted out. He felt his cheeks heat up slightly and he cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck in an awkward gesture as he looked at her, awaiting her reaction.

Rose's eyes widened and for a moment there, he thought that she'd say no. A feeling of dread ran down his spine as he silently begged her not to decline his offer.

Why it mattered so much, he couldn't say, but it  _did_.

"You're kidding?" she managed to ask, chuckling softly in disbelief.

"Err, no. No. No! Of course not. I-I want you to. If you like."

Blimey, the whole ordeal went and got the best of him, but so be it. He wanted Rose Tyler onboard. To be his light in the dark. To show her the wonders of the universe, one after one, every single day, because he knew for a fact that she deserved it.

"Is it always this dangerous?"

"Yup."

"But you'd... You'd bring me to all those places, yeah? Different planets and... You really  _would_."

"If you'd let me," he said softly.

His eyes bore into hers with a strange intensity. The air was filled with that spark he'd felt before, a strange force pulling the two of them together, something intangible and yet very, very real. He had to hold himself back from bringing his hands to her temples in order to attempt to see what she was truly thinking. Of course, he'd never do it against her will, but the suspense was killing him, and to be forced to regenerate due to suspense would be, weeell, rather  _silly_. Yup.

Her eyes held a thousand questions and equally many answers, and if only he could, he'd dive straight into them to explore them all. She was unlike any other. He barely knew her, but that much he knew for certain.

_Rose Tyler._

The Doctor spotted a shift in the way she looked at him. Her expression, previously uncertain, changed into a look of determination and... And...

Happiness? Was that the word?

It was amusing how that day was a day for lost things being found. He found Rose, he found the missing employees of Vitex, but strangely enough, he also found a brand new will to live, unlike anything he had ever felt since before the war.

It was rather  _brilliant_.

And then, with just eight words, she spun his entire world around without as much as making an effort, marking a beginning to something entirely new. A new chapter where the pages would be filled with her presence; a breath of life in a world that he grew to believe was forever doomed to be void of it.

"Alright then, Doctor. Take me to the stars."

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sooo sorry for taking forever to update, and that the chapter was so long. And for the adventure-y bits. I'll be focusing more on fluff from now on, since I love fluff. :p And there'll be no more gigantic delays between chapters. This one was difficult to write somehow, writing adventure and action is definitely not my forte. I hope it wasn't too bad. Did you enjoy the Doctor's PoV? Would you like me to alternate them or just stick to Rose?

Also, big thank you to Bria for all her help! ^_^ Thank you all for reading this, and please do let me know what you thought of it :) Happy New Year to you all! Stay brilliant!


	5. A New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose travels among the stars with the Doctor.

_"Is it always this dangerous?"_

_"Yup."_

_"But you'd... You'd bring me to all those places, yeah? Different planets and... You really would."_

_"If you'd let me," he said softly._

_"Alright then, Doctor. Take me to the stars."_

* * *

That first day, he took her to a different planet. A whole new planet in a galaxy that was still unknown to human scientists due to being too distant in relation to the Earth. An entire new _world_ at the palm of her hand.

Everything, every - little - tiny - thing completely blew her mind. No, really, it _did_. For starters, it was the most gorgeous place anyone could have ever dreamt of. The skies weren't blue or gray or anything of the sort, they had this warm shade of pink that sometimes dipped into peach, and the neighboring planets were so close that they took up a large portion of the sky, but did not interfere with the light and warmth brought on by the planet's twin suns. A pleasant breeze swayed the trees which were equal in height to skyscrapers back on Earth. They had blue leaves and were planted very far apart, granting shade but not crowding the area, leaving ample room to walk around in. Underneath them were all sorts of dirt roads, market stalls and wells filled with icy blue water, and up in those trees were hidden strange little huts, presumably wooden, which the Doctor told her were the homes of the working class on the planet, explaining that the royalty lived further up the hills where it wasn't quite this warm.

And it was _alien_. The people that lived there, they weren't strictly _people_. They were odd and short and blue skinned, and most of them had a pet of some sort. Looked like a dog, except it didn't have a nose. No, really, their dogs didn't have noses. They were still furry and came in all shapes and sizes, they just didn't have noses. Rose couldn't stop laughing at the fuzzy little creatures, and the Doctor kept telling her to be quiet or she might offend them, which only made her giggle all the more.

All these alien people, they just walked around with their little companions, smiling like anything, and Rose couldn't help but stare. Oh, and the planet was called Barcelona. Like the city, except it was not, it was a part of the Tanduris system and had nothing to do with Earth, 's exactly what the Doctor told her.

The Doctor seemed to enjoy the trip just as much as she did. Well, she had a bit of a culture shock, she had to admit. Twenty hours earlier, she didn't believe in the existence of aliens, at least not aliens she'd ever get to see, and now she was in a different corner of the universe, surrounded by these short blue beings who were seemingly filled with glee and had dogs with no noses and lived up in tree huts. Oh, and the man she went there with, he was alien too, even if he didn't look it.

And she had the most wonderful day with him, she did.

Barely knew him, that's right. And he did most of the talking. He told her about the planet, answered her curious questions one after another, talked her into trying some local delicacy which she thought was completely disgusting, poked fun at nearly all of her reactions and walked by her side wherever they went. Close, but not close enough to touch. They also ran into trouble, found that one of the local gangs was stealing those funny dogs with no noses which were apparently very intelligent and capable of working, so yeah, they were stealing them and the two of them put an end to it and everything. The Doctor told her that trouble was pretty much _part of the job_ , and Rose, instead of feeling scared, found herself completely fascinated.

She was absolutely knackered by the time they made their way back to the ship, but she didn't think she could get any sleep, not after everything that had transpired during the day. Was she even the same Rose that she was just a month ago, before she first met the Doctor? She didn't think so. And that was... That was really rather wonderful, wasn't it? Yeah, it was. For the first twenty-one years of her life, nothing ever happened. Her life was largely unsatisfying and she was desperate for... For _something else_ , and the Doctor was something else alright, he was something entirely different from anything she'd ever known.

She lingered in the console room, unsure of what to do with herself. Stay and chat with him for a bit? Well, she'd certainly _like_ to. She was under the impression that the Doctor and his TARDIS had a fair bit in common; both full of mysteries and so much bigger on the inside, and she'd love to explore those mysteries a little bit better.

She was surprised with how little she knew him, how at the end of the day they were still complete strangers, when being around him just felt _right_. How they sort of complimented each other; when they ran from the villainous gang who stole those funny dogs it was as if their bodies were in sync, one assisting the other without any thought. Of course, that conclusion only made her angry at herself, but she remained composed despite all the brewing emotions.

So yeah, she lingered, and the silence between them was filled with memories of shared laughter and this odd kind of electricity that she couldn't quite make sense of. Finally, she exhaled and leaned against this railing of sorts, stretched her arms and rested her eyes on his unmoving figure. He was wearing his usual blue pinstriped suit, bar the coat which was now carelessly tossed somewhere. His hair was even more messy than just hours back, and although reluctantly, Rose had to admit that it suited him. He leaned against the console, arms crossed at the chest, and bore his eyes into hers. A slow smile sprawled across his face when he caught her looking back and she couldn't help but respond in the same manner.

"That was brilliant, Doctor," she said with a content sigh, "I mean, all that stuff. It was mental, but it was amazing. It really was."

He made a satisfied sound at the back of his throat as he responded, "Good. I mean, that's good! Very good. Brilliant. So, does that mean that you- weeell, that you want to... Stay?"

"D'you want me to?" she asked uncertainly. Heat pooled up in her cheeks, but she disregarded it.

"Of course I do. Still plenty for us to see, Rose Tyler! Planets, creatures and horizons, all of it within our reach."

"But you've been to them, haven't you? All those planets and... And everything."

"Some, not all. Could never see them all. Even Time Lords don't live that long, and I lead a rather, err, _dangerous_ sort of life. More fun that way!"

"Hold on, so you're _really_ like what was it, nine hundred years old?"

"Nine hundred and three. I checked, since you asked."

She shook her head and rolled her eyes with a chuckle. Talk about an age gap. Add that to the list of reasons why she _shouldn't_ find him interesting in that sense...

When she didn't say anything for a moment, lost in her thoughts, he broke the silence with a look of giddy excitement on his face.

"So! Where are we going next? I chose our first destination, and now, Rose Tyler, it's your turn to pick! Past? Future? Present? Another planet! Ooh, I know, let's go to Banana World! Oh, yes, Banana World! A planet of bananas. Banana cars, furniture, costumes, everything! Bananas are good, Rose. Great source of potassium, those yellow little things. Or we could go see the destruction of the Earth. That's always fun! Or-"

"Fun?" she interrupted him with a chuckle. "Is that your idea of fun, then? Watching the Earth get blown to bits?"

" _History_ is fun to me." He cocked his brow at her and grinned. "Everything that has ever happened and ever will, the bigger the better!"

"But it _hasn't_ happened yet, Doctor, and I don't mean to spoil your fun, but I'm pretty happy about that," she said with a hint of amusement in her tone.

"Oh, it has! And it hasn't. See, that's time travel for you! It's all a little... Wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey."

Rose shook her head then went on to brush a loose strand of hair away from her eyes. It didn't make any sense, but strangely enough, she was willing to believe it. Oh, she'd believe anything after today, that's for sure.

"So? Where are we going next!" he exclaimed more than he asked, turning towards the consoles, flipping switches theatrically, looking like a little boy who was just about to open his presents on Christmas morning. It was really quite endearing and she was just about to answer him with a suggestion. Maybe they should go back in time on Earth or something? If that odd machine of his really did work that way. They could go, say, a thousand years into the past. Wonder what it'd all look like back then in London? 'course she knew bits and pieces from her history lessons, but how did it all _really_ work? Would her parents be there, everyone just sort of transported back in time, or...

Then, she gasped as she remembered something she had, although she shouldn't have, forgotten.

"Oh, my god! _My parents_!"

The Doctor turned towards her with a frown, stopping all his button pressing and switch flipping for a moment.

"I ought to tell them! I mean, not about _this_ ," she said as she gestured around the TARDIS, "But about goin' traveling. I mean, what're they going to think if I go missing? They're going to be so worried! I really shouldn't have-"

He frowned at her and said, "Why?"

Simple question, really, but so out of place. _Why_? For a thousand different reasons, Doctor. But then again, he didn't seem to be the kind of person to say he was leaving, she thought as she remembered the better part of the three weeks that she spent searching for him.

"Well, I can't just go missing on them, can I? I just don't know what to tell them, not really..."

"Rose, this is a _time machine_. We could go to the far end of the universe and back, we could watch the Big Bang and the very last star going out - I've seen that, it was actually rather _lonely_. And cold. And very space-y. Lots and lots of space, Rose! The universe just sort of expands, you see, it's brilliant! Worth a revisit with a companion! Aaaanyway, my point is, we could travel together for, I don't know, a year?" he paused at that, looking at her intently. "And you could still come back on that very same day. Time machine, you see!"

Rose found that she lost track of his little speech about halfway through, annoyingly distracted with looking at his face. So expressive, really, it was almost entrancing, the way he quirked his brows, the way his tongue slipped out of the corner of his mouth in this-this _thoughtful_ way, the way his fingers absentmindedly flipped all sorts of switches on the console during his speech, the way he grinned when he mentioned a time machine... Oh, right, time machine. Not falling for that one.

"Doctor, I'm not saying I don't _believe_ in the whole time machine thing, alright? I mean, after today, I'll believe anything, yeah? But even so, you were gone for _three weeks_ and none of us knew where you were! I mean, I thought something had happened to you!"

She didn't mean to put this much emotion into the sentence, but when she took note of the way she raised her voice at the last few words, a blush crept up over her face. The last thing she'd want was for him to think that she cared about him in any special way. Sure, they could be friends if the circumstances allowed it. Sure, he was the most interesting thing to ever happen to her in her entire life. All the more reason for her _not_ to let him in on the secret that he was, in fact, quite attractive. _To her_.

He crinkled his nose in a frown. Rose couldn't tell if it was a sign of concern, annoyance or a mix of the two, but before she made up her mind on the subject, he smiled at her again as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, that. No, no, it doesn't happen too often! I promise I will get you back to your original timeline. Ooh, I know! You could even input the coordinates yourself!" He gestured at one of the screens. "Look! Right here!"

She walked over to him, making sure that she stood a considerable distance away as to not end up touching him, and looked at the screen. She didn't know what she expected, but certainly not that. It was all strange circles, one inside the other, some sort of lines, some kind of a strange drawing that she couldn't make sense of.

"What's that?"

"Don't you see? It's- oh, err, you don't see English, do you?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Right. That's Gallifreyan. The TARDIS translates every language except this one. Weeell, in theory she could translate this one too, but-"

"Gallifreyan," she repeated after him, finally looking up to try to see his expression. It was as if he was trying to hide something, hiding a hint of pain behind this aloof exterior of his, and no matter how annoying he was, she wanted to know. And oddly enough, to try and make it better. "That's where you said you were from, isn't it? Gallifrey."

He averted her gaze, his entire focus down on the consoles, suddenly appearing very busy as he said, "Yup."

"But it's not in Ireland," she stated, trying to lighten the mood a bit. It worked; his lips stretched in a small smile, as if whatever evil spell he had previously been under had been broken.

"Nope. No, definitely not in Ireland."

She wanted to ask if they could go see it, if they could see his home planet, but something in his eyes made her hold back. Besides, she still wasn't sure if he'd even agree to bring her anywhere else after the delay of telling her parents. And how that would even go...

Her shoulders slumped with a sigh as the Doctor grinned slightly and reached into the pocket of his trousers to produce his sonic screwdriver. He pointed it at the screen and after a short buzz, the circles were replaced with English. She cocked a brow at him, awaiting an explanation. Mind you, it was all science and things and Rose was always more into gymnastics than she was into science and maths, but at least this was written in her language.

"But you said..."

"Just temporary, mind you! But now, you'll be able to make sure that you get back home in time. See? These little buttons right here." Before she had a chance to react, he took hold of her wrist, sending a shiver down her spine as he pulled her hand towards different parts of the console, showing her how to work the machine. She struggled to remember the sequence, pressing buttons and pulling switches after him, all the while knowing that it was all in vain. The close contact distracted her - that spark of electricity that never quite dissipated, it only got worse when he touched her; something she was well aware of but still refused to truly acknowledge. Instead of reacting to it, she watched in silence as their joined hands traveled across the machinery.

When he was done, his fingers lingered, very still and strangely firm around her wrist. Seconds passed and he finally let go, and now it was time for her to struggle to convince herself that his skin against hers had no effect on her whatsoever. It was tiny, insignificant, perfectly proper (if slightly odd) and she was just being daft. Exactly.

"Just like that," he muttered in a voice barely above a whisper. He then gestured at a lever and informed, "Then, you pull that lever. Aaand we're done!"

She studied him for a moment, then pulled away and nodded at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him look at his own hand as if he was in a trance, then swallow thickly and finally, after a short delay, clear his throat and grin at her.

"So, what do you say, Rose Tyler? One trip, just one more! And then, we get you back home in time, you tell your parents and theeeen," he paused, flipping a switch on the consoles in a theatrical sort of way as he regarded her excitedly, "And then, we're off to the stars. For good. That is, err, if you like."

_For good_.

For a moment there, they just regarded one another in complete silence. Rose's eyes locked on to his and in them, she saw a promise of a future she never could have imagined, and that made her stand by and watch idly as her steel will crumbled under all the wondrous things traveling with the Doctor could bring.

"Fine. One more trip. But you better make sure we're back in the right time."

"Of course! Absolutely! So, any preferences? Where do you want to go?"

"Surprise me."

He beamed at her, told her to hold on tight and pulled the lever, sending the ship flying in an erratic pattern, spiraling, pirouetting and just throwing them all around the place. She fell to the ground, terrified in the most exciting of ways, and when all the shaking had finally ceased, he helped her up and wordlessly gestured at the door.

He didn't need to tell her twice. Every step she took filled her with a thrill unlike any she had ever known before she met him. She looked over her shoulder, finding the Doctor smiling at her mysteriously. On their first trip together, he took her to Barcelona. What did he prepare for her this time? With baited breath, she swung the blue door wide open and peered outside.

What she saw before her eyes then, everything, every little bit of it, it just completely overpowered her. She gasped in delight and rushed outside, all remains of hesitation forever purged from her mind.

**~oOo~**

The next days - yes, _days_ \- are filled with laughter, conversation, sparkling eyes, little smiles and all sorts of adventures. One trip turns to two and that soon becomes five, and soon enough they only mention it as they run from one place to the next; a passing thought, a reminder, but not a definite _let's go home_.

Rose's head was up in the clouds. It was all like a fairytale that she just so happened to end up in. Like she was Alice in Wonderland, not only falling through the rabbit hole, but jumping into it head first and laughing all the way down. It was intoxicating. He took her to the future, he took her to the past, he took her to different planets and just... Yeah. It shouldn't even be possible, but it _still_ happened. She stopped doubting it and embraced the fact that her life was completely mental, and strangely enough, she could find nothing wrong with that. Her future at Vitex, her job back on Earth, watching the telly in the evening before calling it a night, Saturday afternoon shopping with Shareen, it all melted away and as she ran along with the Doctor, she felt that she found a better life. A life filled with adventure and mystery and most of all, a _useful_ life, because they still haven't managed to land in a place where their help wouldn't be needed. Rose didn't know if it was the Doctor's intention to continuously send them into trouble, but the same thing seemed to happen when she chose the destination, so maybe it really _was_ part of the job.

They took turns. She'd choose, then he'd choose, then it would be her turn again and in the time she spent with him, she had seen more than she could ever think possible. At the end of the day, as they made their way back to the time ship, she stumbled behind him in her exhaustion, finding herself in a constant state of complete amazement.

He made the TARDIS display the time for her, human hours and human days, because she told him she felt lost without being able to keep track of the passing time. He smiled at her then and started boasting about how _he_ never lost track of it for a second, how it flowed in his veins, and she asked him if that was why he burnt their tea on a regular basis. The look on his face was frankly quite priceless.

She started to enjoy teasing him you see, carefully at first but more openly as days went by, especially when she picked up on the fact that he rarely ever took her words to heart and often contributed to their banter, as if he didn't want it to end. She was less guarded with him as days went on, and although her (very annoying) attraction to him didn't cease, she was able to keep it at bay and enjoy his presence for what it was. The Doctor was quickly becoming her friend, and even though she barely knew him, she just felt _right_ around him. It was weird really, but there it was. A fact.

He had a darker side to him, that much she quickly noticed; there'd be times when he would just zone out, stand in the doorway of the TARDIS as it was floating in the Time Vortex (see, Rose picked up on all that stuff after a few days!), look straight ahead and not pay her much mind. She gave him the space she sensed that he needed and went back to what they both now referred to as _her room_ , doing all sorts of things until he sought her out and swept her away on another adventure.

Those quiet moments became rarer as her time with him hit the two week mark. Two weeks without visiting home, scarcely getting any rest, seeing him from day to night and then some hours into the night too, it left her with no room to think. He barely slept or so she thought, and as a result she didn't sleep much either, although the bed he had prepared for her was possibly the most blissful thing in all of creation, all big and blue and soft and cozy.

So yeah, he babbled on about things endlessly and she teased him and his eyes just-just _lit up_ when she did, so she didn't stop. And he was a stranger, but then again, in some ways he was not.

Two weeks of _one more trip_ might have turned to three months, even though she missed her mum and dad a great deal. They _might_ have done, if not for the fact that she allowed the Doctor to tinker with her mobile phone (she found that he loved to tinker with things, which was often rather dangerous), and the moment he was done, a sharp ringing drilled its' way into their heads.

Rose's eyes widened in shock as she took a look outside the ship. They were floating among the stars, parked after a visit back to the age of dinosaurs, which was mind boggling and amazing and _yeah_ , _she_ _did_ _like it_. So, stars, dinosaurs and things, how could her phone be ringing?

She picked up only to hear her mum's voice on the other end, rapidly pulling her away from this dream and back to reality.

_"Rose? I've been tryin' to call you all evening, I did! Where're you, sweetheart? Dinner's ready in twenty minutes and you're still not here! You're done with work, aren't you? Rose? Rose, can you hear me? Oh, this blasted old thing must be acting up again! Your father's promised me a new one, but he never has the time to go shopping with me, does he? Always busy with his drinks. 's alright, though. He loves that company, he does. You really should just start working there, darling. 'course you'll probably want to stop working if you get married one day, but even so. You'll have kids of your own to raise. Lord knows it wasn't easy to work when you were little! Crying for mummy, you were, you poor thing."_

Rose just stood there, mouth wide open, staring at the Doctor in shock. It really was her mum on the other end, calling her about dinners and marriage and Vitex when she, Rose, had only just come back from a trip to see the flippin' _dinosaurs_.

The Doctor had an ambiguous expression on his face, his features considerably less cheerful as he regarded her while she listened to her mum prattle on about nothing without a word of response from her. She finally forced herself to stop daydreaming and cut Jackie's monologue short.

"Mum! I'm here, okay? 's alright, your phone's fine. And I'm... I'm fine, too. How's things? Is everything alright?"

_"Oh, why didn't you say so! And how d'you mean if everything's alright? Why wouldn't it be? I just saw you this morning! Go on, are you coming home? Even your good old dad's already here, Rose!"_

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I'll be there." Rose swallowed thickly. It was meant to be just one trip that turned to twenty, but it seemed as though for her mum, only a few hours had passed since she left. Now she'd just have to make sure that the Doctor actually _landed_ the machine in the right time, then she'd have to make up some excuse to her parents, and then they could be off, back on their adventures. It was much too late for her to even consider giving it up, she was too far gone.

She murmured her "be right there, Mum" into the handset and hung up the phone, then looked at the Doctor, in vain trying to get him to look back at her.

Rose definitely wouldn't go as far as to say that she knew the Doctor well. No, he was still a mystery to her; she knew just as much as she did on that first day, stepping inside this blue box with him and letting him take her to the stars. But they did share a lot of very intense moments in the past two weeks, moments filled with laughter, wonder, stolen looks that she'd never admit to, sparks of electricity when he'd grab her hand... Casual touch, nothing more than what was absolutely necessary, but it lingered on her mind and tingled her skin long after he let go of her once they were safely out of danger.

She thought about him a great deal more than she really ought to, not to mention that she spent every waking hour with him, so it wasn't strange to her that she picked up on how crestfallen he seemed right then, when she hung up the phone.

"Our _one trip_ lasted a tad longer than we thought, yeah?" she said jokingly, once again hoping to lighten the mood. He didn't respond; instead, he walked over to the consoles and motioned for her to come with him.

"I always keep my promises, Rose Tyler," he said in a forced tone that was probably intended to appear energetic. "Go on, type in the coordinates and you'll go right back home. London, England, planet Earth!"

"What's wrong, then?" she asked, ignoring the buttons and screens and switches.

"Hmm?"

"With you. You're all... I dunno, sad, all of a sudden. What's happened?"

His eyebrows shot up, eyes drifted to the ceiling, lips pursed in thought. When he looked back at her after a full minute, he gave up his falsely cheerful demeanor in favor of one that seemed to match his mood a little better. He looked strangely sullen.

"You're going home," he responded, as if that was all the explanation she'd ever need.

"Yeah? We said. We said we'd just do one more trip, but..."

"Will you be staying?" His eyes bore into hers. She didn't realize how close they were until that moment; their proximity startled her but she did not flinch away, choosing to bravely meet his gaze and hold her ground.

"Staying... home? D'you want me to?" she asked as she worried her bottom lip. Did he want to send her home? She thought that he... That he was having fun with her too. Liked having her around, even. Why else would he make her sit with him in the library as he tinkered just last night, just for the sake of conversation?

"No!" he cried a bit too quickly. "No. No, of course not, but you- weeeell, your mother, your family. You're human. Humans don't like to stray from their... Natural habitat. And I wondered if you might-"

"Doctor, don't be daft. I told you. There's nothing back there for me, yeah? I mean, I do love my parents. I love them a lot. But this... Everything you've shown me, it's just... It's a better life, isn't it? It's completely mental, but it's _brilliant_. I'm not going anywhere, 's just dinner with my mum and dad, and then we're off."

Relief washed over his face and from the way he looked at her, she wondered for a moment if he wasn't about to pull her into a hug. But no, he didn't, he just brightened considerably and said, "Well then! No time to waste. But I'll have you know that I'm not doing any _dinner_. Family dinner! Eugh! I don't do domestics, Rose. Boring human traditions, I can't stand them! How d'you lot even have time for all that stuff? All the dinners and parties and things. When do you ever have time to, I don't know, read? Study? Impossible creatures," he mumbled as his fingers expertly operated all sorts of different levers and controls.

"How d'you mean, you don't _do domestics_? What'd we do two days ago then? Dinner in the galley, yeah? I cooked? Remember? 'sides, how on earth am I going to explain this to my parents?"

No, really, how would she ever even begin to explain this to her parents? Well, obviously she _wouldn't_. Rose hated lying, but she'd much rather not end up in a loony bin, thank you very much. She'd just have to make something up, say she'd be going traveling and hope that they accept it. Her heart clenched as she imagined the reactions of her parents; she knew them so well, and she knew that they'd undoubtedly be heartbroken. But then again, wasn't it time for her to start her own life? This unexpected, wonderful life?

The Doctor shrugged in response and then moved aside to let her input the time and date of their return to Earth. She struggled to remember it; he helped her with a smug smile and soon, the ship was shaking and tossing and making that strange whirring noise that she was already rather familiar with. And then, just like that, it stopped.

"Are you sure we didn't land in the 14th century?" she asked, the tip of her tongue emerging from the corner of her mouth in a teasing smile.

"You tell me. You're the one who sent us here, Rose," he retorted, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Shocked? That I can drive your little spaceship, I mean."

"Weeeell, maybe a tad. You humans and your funny little brains, can't say I expected you to remember the key sequence," he teased back as she smacked his arm, then put on her red jacket and peered out of the ship, half expecting to find some sort of a foreign planet waiting for her outside.

Her expectations were wrong. They were just around the corner from her home; it was already dark out, but at least it wasn't the 14th century. It was odd, so very _normal_ , unlike anything she had seen during the two weeks she spent with the Doctor. A fleeting thought ran through her mind, telling her that it was now _home_ that seemed alien to her, but she dismissed it, took a deep breath, and made her way towards her house. A few steps later, she noticed that the Doctor wasn't following her. She turned around and saw him standing by his TARDIS, hands in his pockets, looking at her with a half-hearted smile.

"You're really not coming with me?" she asked in a tone that was as casual as she could muster.

"No. I'm not."

"Why?"

"I don't do _domestic_ , Rose," he repeated, leaning against his ship and shooting her a guarded look.

It was always so up and down with him, with the Doctor. She didn't know how to make any sense of it.

"Yeah? And why's that, then?"

He pondered her question for a moment before responding, "I don't like to stay still. It's..."

"It's what?" she prompted when he didn't continue. He swallowed thickly; she saw his Adam's apple bob in his throat despite the looming darkness around the two of them. His eyes were just as dark as the night sky, barely tinted with a hint of chocolate brown, and held more mysteries than she could possibly imagine.

"Slow. Yup, _slow_. Painfully slow! I don't like _slow,_ " he grumbled as he scrunched his nose.

"Slow is not always _bad_ , y'know," she said softly, "'sides, we've been running around for two weeks. Two weeks! I'm knackered. Could use a proper dinner too. You're such a tight wad, I'm always payin' for the chips, or talking my way into them if I don't have any local money."

He grinned at her, but she already knew that grin. It was unrelenting. She knew it because whenever she'd ask him about things like his home, his race, his past, all she'd get was that smile which was intended as warm but came out cold as ice.

He never seemed to be more of a distant stranger than when he smiled at her in that particular way.

"Go on then! The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll be back. Your mother did not sound particularly pleased on the telephone. Weeell, that is if she is ever pleased at all. From what I heard, it's a rare occurrence, although _how_ rare depends on a lot of factors. First, what do you consider _rare_? A shooting star? An explosion on the sun? A man winning the lottery even though he never played? A-"

"Right, yeah, I get it. I'm goin', I'm goin'. But... Will you stay? I mean, will you wait for me?"

"Oh, I will. Of course I will. Who would pay for the chips if I didn't?" He smirked and this time, she knew that it was genuine. She smiled back at him, fighting to conceal her disappointment at him not going with her, and marched off towards the house.

* * *

Surreal. Absolutely surreal. Sitting there, eating dinner like nothing's ever happened, her dad was watching the telly, her mum was ranting about it, Rose was trying and failing to enjoy her infamous shepherd's pie. Apparently, their maid had gone on holiday, and her mum was never any great cook.

It was as if all of that completely mad stuff, all the aliens and spaceships and things, it was like all of it never existed back here on Earth. It was as if the Doctor was nothing but a dream.

What if he was?

She still didn't mention her plan to go traveling. She looked at the happy faces of her parents, her dad laughing at some daft comedy show, her mum babbling on about this and that, and her heart broke. They loved her. She couldn't stay, but she had to tell them, couldn't risk coming back late like he once did. If he even existed.

Why didn't he follow her? Really, one dinner, it's not like she was asking for the impossible. It was hardly significant. Would've just been nice if he'd do that for her. Then again, he owed her nothing, did he? No, she owed him for all these amazing things he showed her, and if there was one thing she knew for certain in regards to the Doctor, it was that she didn't want this new life of hers to come to an end.

"Mum? Dad? Listen, I... I've decided to-"

"Blimey! What on earth is _that_!" Pete exclaimed, cutting her off. Both the Tyler women followed his eyes towards the television, and what Rose saw on the screen made her heart skip a beat.

_"A mysterious blue police telephone box appeared above the streets of London, flying through the air at a high speed. Jamie Wilkinson is currently in the area. Jamie, tell us, what is going on out there?"_

_"It's hard to say, Thomas. It appears to be some sort of an aircraft, but Mr. Watson here says that no aircraft comes in such a shape and we are all inclined to agree with him..."_

Rose watched in an awe as the TARDIS flew above the streets of her hometown, her heart now racing. He said that he would wait. He _promised_ he would wait.

He made her a promise. Then what was he doing miles away from her home, currently being broadcasted on live television?

She ignored her parents' protests and ran as if she was in a trance. Out of the dining room, out of the house, out into the chilly evening breeze. The skies were cloudless, clear, and the stars shone brightly in the distance, mapping paths she hoped she would eventually get to walk.

And there was no TARDIS. And no Doctor.

Nothing remained, no sign of him, only an empty space where his ship used to stand and where her new life used to be.

* * *

**A/N:** I apologize for the little cliffhanger. I couldn't resist, and the chapter was already long (I can't seem to write shorter ones...). Thank you so much for all your reviews on the previous chapter, and I'm sorry for not responding to all of them. It's been a busy time for me, but now I feel I can finally be back to my regular writing schedule. :)

Please let me know if you enjoyed this, it's truly motivating. Much love to you all :D

P.S. What do you say, Rose or the Doctor PoV next?


	6. Facts and Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor has to face the facts. And a few other things.

_"Mum? Dad? Listen, I... I've decided to-"_

_"Blimey! What on earth is that!" Pete exclaimed, cutting her off. Both the Tyler women followed his eyes towards the television, and what Rose saw on the screen made her heart skip a beat._

_"A mysterious blue police telephone box appeared above the streets of London, flying through the air at a high speed," came the voice from the TV._

_Rose watched in an awe as the TARDIS flew above the streets of her hometown, her heart now racing. He said that he would wait. He promised he would wait._

_She ignored her parents' protests and ran as if she was in a trance. Out of the dining room, out of the house, out into the chilly evening breeze. The skies were cloudless, clear, and the stars shone brightly in the distance, mapping paths she hoped she would eventually get to walk._

_And there was no TARDIS. And no Doctor._

_Nothing remained, no sign of him, only an empty space where his ship used to stand and where her new life used to be._

**~oOo~**

The Doctor drew quite a bit of attention to himself with his reckless little trip through London. His ship flew above the buildings and slalomed around the skyscrapers, missing the Big Ben by mere inches, diving down almost to street level only to rise up again, leaving him to hold on for dear life to whatever he could. He knew there'd be quite a riot about it down on Earth. Humans, they still didn't know about the existence of aliens. They just dismissed it, disregarded it, some were brave enough to _assume_ or even _believe_ in it, but they didn't _know_. Knowing was scary, it meant doing something about it, of course it did, their lot never knew how to just leave things alone, so if they'd accept it they'd have to act on it, and they weren't ready for that. Not yet. So while he kept them safe and while some of them saw things that were widely considered supernatural, the public still remained in denial. All alone in that big wide universe, that's what they all thought.

Just the way he normally was, until he ran into Rose Tyler.

Why was he being so careless? Why fly through the streets of London, causing chaos, when he could just type in the coordinates and have the TARDIS materialize at his destination of choice? Not that he had one. Where would he possibly go?

If his decision was to run, he could've ran without being seen. He could have gone to, for example, Miran IV. Quite a secluded little moon. Probably because the air was toxic to about, weeell, ninety-four percent of all known species? Something like that. But he was a Time Lord, he'd manage, he always did. Or he could have gone to the planet of Dagobah. One big swamp, that. Them humans would be surprised with how many things in Star Wars were actually true, although not the Ewoks. Come on, those are ridiculous! Fuzzy little bears running around with spears! Ha!

Aaaanyway. He could have been running in a much more effective manner, you know, just disappearing into thin air never to be seen again; on the run from everything that had proved difficult to deal with.

Running before she had the chance to leave him and go back to her human life...

He pulled at the brakes abruptly, forcing the ship to a stop so sudden that it brought him to the ground. Taking a few deep breaths first, he stood and looked at the monitors, one of which displayed the view from the outside. It seemed as though the TARDIS was more sensible than he was, landing in some secluded, dirty, shabby street corner, tripping a garbage bin in the process. He was most probably still in London.

He leaned against the consoles, both hands supporting him as he brought his head down, eyes open but quite unseeing. His thoughts were a proper mess, racing one after another at the speed of light. Mind you, that was rather common for him, especially in this incarnation. He'd go from quantum physics to strawberry jam to the reproductive system of silverback gorillas, but right now, it was _worse_. And that, that was something to take note of, because if his mind was in a state of perpetual mess, then this was a thousand times worse.

Why did he run? Really, why? He planned to take her to so many places, so many different times, all those points in history that she would have loved to see. Oh, he knew Rose Tyler even though he didn't know her at all - he knew that look of utter delight in her brown eyes, he reveled in it, wanted to swim and drown in it and never, ever stop being witness to it.

The Doctor raked his fingers through his hair with a groan. _What in Rassilon's name am I doing?_ If he truly wanted to run, he would've been gone by now, but no! Instead he went on and made a proper mess down here on Earth with his little exhibits, and why?

His shoulders heaved with a sigh as he tore his clenched fists away from the consoles and stood upright, only to slump down into the jump seat, head falling backwards and eyelids falling shut. His mind began to wander.

Let's talk about facts, shall we? He was always better with facts. Facts are certainties, they are safe and firm, and while they can be questioned, they are easier to name and categorize than... Other things. Like... Like impressions and... And _feelings_. So, yes! Facts. He liked facts. Facts and truths and possibilities that he often challenged and oh, how he loved the impossible; but even for the Doctor, there was a limit as to how much _impossible_ he could handle before he would snap, and to allow himself to care for somebody again, weeeell, that _was_ quite impossible. Yes, quite, after all the...

He frowned when he felt his eyes moisten rapidly, followed by the quickening of his heartbeats, shortness of breath, memories of the War flooding his brain, appearing right before his eyes. It was all there - pain and hurt and so, so much loss, more than he could ever even hope to handle. He wasn't even meant to be alive, he certainly didn't _want_ to be, yet there he was, alive and well, two regenerations later. It was his punishment for putting an end to it all; having to carry the burden of guilt for the rest of his very long life. His whole future was planned out for him ahead of time and he didn't intend to fight it; why would he? He deserved this, all of it, and then she came along, the insufferable little human that he wanted to call his friend.

A friend. Hadn't had any of those in quite a while. They're pretty nice things, friends, and although he didn't previously feel _deprived_ of the privilege of having one, he sure did feel that way now that he found a person who was fit for the position. Oh, more than fit for it, she was _brilliant_.

His mind wandered in a different direction, inside an ordinary - if a bit posh - house, down the hall and into the dining room; Pete Tyler was rather well off, he knew that, so surely they have one of those, they can't be one of those people who sit on the sofa and munch on their meals while watching soaps, no, the Tylers will have had a proper dining room with curtains and a chandelier and... Yes, a dining room. And at the overly big, presumably mahogany table, would have been Rose with her parents, eating some boring human meal, talking about boring human things. Telling them that she'd be going traveling and then getting persuaded into staying, because humans belong down here on Earth, not amongst the stars. They're not quite open to the idea of exploration just yet. He landed too early in their timeline for them to be great space travelers, even though they were already at the brink of it.

He sighed. Was that all? Was there nothing more to it? Was that how their short story would come to an end? No. No, it couldn't be. He was underestimating her. As little as he knew of her, she _did_ have a hankering for adventure, and that was exactly what he was willing to offer. Why would she throw him over just like that? Then again, she had a life of her own down here, filled with television and relatives and remembering to dress warmly on a chilly day. Just a normal day-to-day life; something he had never taken part in. Who says she wouldn't prefer the normalcy over the wonders of the universe?

Facts. None of this was related to facts. He was thinking in impressions, feelings and uncertainties, assumptions and maybe's instead of firm, truthful statements. He couldn't have known what Rose liked best, because he hardly knew _her_. He could only know what _he_ liked best, what felt like a breath of life in his rather gloomy existence.

_Rose Tyler._

The last of the Time Lords, afraid of taking chances? Oh, he should be _ashamed_.

And just like that, something clicked. Yup, clicked. Just like that, an almost audible _click_. It all fell into place, like scattered pieces of a fairly uncomplicated puzzle that he had been struggling to solve, one after another bringing him to the conclusion that he was already well aware of.

It might not be easy. It might end in disaster. She might want to stay home. Might, maybe, perhaps. But what about a certainty? What was he really, reaaaally, really really certain of?

One thing. Just one. He _didn't_ want to run!

With a short bark of relieved laughter, he jumped out of his seat and mashed in the coordinates, the ship's presence nudging his mind in approval at the decision. He wouldn't be making an exhibit of himself this time around.

Two seconds later, his TARDIS materialized just around the corner from the Tyler residence.

**~oOo~**

"Rose, what are you doin' out here, love? You can't just go running off like that. Your mum's very cross, and we both know how that usually ends, eh? Oi! Rose! Where're you goin' again?! Rose!"

The conversation picked up by the monitors was drawn out by the whooshing and wheezing of his good ol' TARDIS, and moments later, he heard a loud banging on the door of the ship. A quick look at the screen showed him a rather flustered Rose, and his hearts jumped up to his throat. Either something had happened or maybe, just maybe, the Tylers _did_ watch the telly during supper...

He gulped nervously, but before he managed to compose a coherent thought, her voice joined the cacophony of noises: the TARDIS, her banging on the door, her father yelling after her somewhere nearby, although still a little distance away from her...

_Blimey. Her father!_

Right. Right, no, he wasn't really up for _that_. Explaining the box, weeell, he could do that, 'course he could, but would that be alright with Rose? Would she-

"DOCTOR! Open up! Why are you locking me out? Where the _hell_ have you been?!"

"Rose? Wha- What's that, then? Is that the box from the telly? Sure looks like it! What's it doing on Terry's lawn, for Chrissakes?"

Oh. _Terry's lawn_. Had he landed right in the middle of somebody else's garden? A roaring, resounding, angry voice started shouting from a different direction, informing him that yes, he did. Yup. That's... A bit unfortunate.

"Doctor? Doctor! I know you're in there," Rose muttered instead of yelling, her voice now smaller, nearly drawn out by her father's constant questions.

And again, that impulse. To run, not have to explain anything, spare her the explanations too while he was at it, she wouldn't have to do any of that stuff, nope, no goodbye's, no thank you's, just him disappearing into thin air. He was good at that, rather good at pretty much everything actually, and if he wanted to, he'd pull it off with an ease.

He reminded himself that he _didn't_ , in fact, want to. He then took a deep, uneasy breath, grabbed his coat and opened up the TARDIS door by just a few inches. Rose immediately stuck her hand through it to pry it open even further, and he resisted the urge of grabbing her and doing something rather daft, such as, weelll, holding on to her. In all fairness, she sounded rather mad at him, and if he was staying, he'd best get right on fixing that and not make it even worse. The Doctor applauded himself internally for such good insight and, with another deep breath, looked at Rose as she stood right outside, looking back at him with the biggest frown he had seen on her face yet; her eyes narrowed in temporarily mute fury and... And... Betrayal? Maybe. It wasn't just anger, no, there was more to it, something raw and vulnerable and scary.

She was worrying her lip as her arms hung idly at her sides, the skin on her hands red from banging at his door. He made sure to close the TARDIS before her father had caught up to her, and then allowed himself a longer look at her face.

The Doctor didn't need to be an expert on human emotions to see how hurt Rose looked right there and then. Guilt washed over him immediately, but before he managed to choke a word out, her father broke the short silence, forcing the Doctor's attention away from the daughter and onto Pete Tyler. Who, in the man's mind, actually happened to be _his boss_. Right. Better get right on fixing that, too.

"Doctor Smith? What the..." Pete's mouth actually fell open in surprise as his eyes skipped between the Doctor, Rose and the ship he had most likely just seen on television. "What are you doin' here? Terry's going to go proper mad on you for parking that thing in his garden! I can hear 'im yellin' from his window! Wasn't this thing on the telly just now?" He turned to Rose before speaking up again. "Did you know, sweetheart? 's that why you ran out? I don't-"

"No," Rose responded without tearing her chillingly emotionless gaze away from the Doctor. "No, I didn't know. That's the whole point. I _didn't_ know."

Just the same as a few minutes back, the puzzle slowly became complete. It wasn't hard to guess that she must have seen his little trip through London, a lot of people probably have, and whatever conclusion she jumped to, she probably wasn't too far from the truth. He could lie to her, make up some excuse, but the way she looked at him, as if he actually hurt her, it... It told him it might not be _that_ easy.

Mess. Utter mess in his mind. _What to do? What to say?_ Pete was still speaking, but he barely registered the words; more questions for Rose, a few for him, a shout to the man whose garden he apparently landed in, telling him to pipe it down; but all through her father's monologue, Rose hadn't said a word. She finally broke their mutual stare and looked down to the ground, and only then did he fully comprehend the intensity of emotion he faintly noted whilst she was still looking him directly in the eyes. His hearts clenched, contracted in a strange, sudden jolt of shared pain. She brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face, and he had to convince himself not to assist her with removing a stubborn lock that lingered despite her best attempts. No, Doctor, that would _not_ make things any better. A priority list! That's what he needed! Priorities. Finding out just _how_ upset Rose was, that should've been at the top, then her father, then-

"Doctor Smith! I am _talking_ to you!" Pete Tyler interrupted his stream of thoughts, _again_.

"Dad," Rose chastened in a tone that was tinted with warning.

Knowing better than to make things even worse, the Doctor turned his attention to Pete and said, "Yes? Hello!"

There. That should be sufficient, right? But no, not for Pete it wasn't.

"What on earth are you doin' here, in this thing? It was you flying about earlier, wasn't it? I ain't ever seen nothin' like this, that much I can say."

Rose's father looked rather cross with him, so Doctor struggled to find a good excuse that would satisfy both the Tylers, as something told him that Rose would rather break the news to her parents herself.

If there'd even be any news to break... He gulped at the thought, unconsciously rubbing the back of his neck, the way he often did when he was feeling nervous or uncomfortable.

"Weeeell, it's... Sort of a... Gig? Side job? I'm just doing some part-time work. In... Advertising. Advertising... blue paint...? Yes, blue paint! It's an important project, and-"

Pete Tyler laughed out loud, but not loud enough for the Doctor to miss the tiny little chuckle that escaped Rose's lips. He smiled at the sound; couldn't help it, instinctive reaction to what over the last two weeks was music to his ears, but by the time he looked her way, she appeared to be downcast again, forcing the happiness away from her features.

"Advertising blue paint? Dear god, don't we pay you enough?"

Before the Doctor managed to respond, a rather loud voice violently assaulted his eardrums.

"Pete, you said you'd just go 'n fetch her! It's been _ten_ minutes! Dinner's as good as gone cold now, I said it would be!"

His eyes quickly drifted towards the aggravated woman that stomped in their direction until she stopped at the man's side, shot him a glare, gave Rose a concerned look and then finally turned towards him. Her hair was dyed a rather aggressive shade of blonde, her makeup was slightly overdone, and she was probably in her early forties. Oh, and she looked rather upset. That too.

"Who're you, then? What are you doing on Terry's lawn?" the woman asked, anger replaced by curiosity. Rose sighed, looking more hopeless than annoyed now, which wasn't an improvement of any sort, and the Doctor found himself wishing for being alone with her to at least _try_ to explain. How, he couldn't fathom, but he'd still have to try.

"Mum, this is the Doctor. Doctor John Smith. Doctor, this is my mum, Jackie," Rose introduced in a resigned tone. She looked up at him with an expression that almost said: _could this get any worse?_ , and he was much inclined to agree, but at the same time, he was happy that she even bothered to look his way. If she _did_ realize that he ran away (even if very, very briefly!) he'd be in trouble; he was sure of it, she seemed to be rather keen on being angry with him, and this time, she had a relatively good reason. He looked into her eyes, finding uncertainty mixed with disappointment, and the only thing he could think of was how much he never wanted to let her down again. Yes, just that, even with his superior Time Lord brain it may have happened at times that he would become overwhelmed by one single thought, sensation, impression, and-

"Oh, so _that's_ who you are, is it? Blimey, your good ol' dad was right, wasn't he, Rose? He's a rather fit bloke, that one. 's no wonder Rose ran straight out if you were waiting on her, now is it? Now then, come on in. We can heat up the pie and have a little chat. I'm not havin' any strange men wandering around my daughter, I don't care how you look like!"

"Errr, I'm not sure if- I mean, I-" he stuttered. Domestics were really not his thing, and he still had to talk to Rose...

"Mum, leave him alone, alright? Look, go on inside, I'll catch up. Just give me a mo, yeah?"

He would lie if he said that there weren't any protests, and he would also lie if he claimed that he actually _listened_ to more than, weeell, about two percent of Jackie's rant. And even that was rather _straining_. But in the end, they were left alone outside the TARDIS, and the moment her parents left, Rose's expression changed from resignation to bitter annoyance. He didn't know her, barely knew her at all, but he knew her well enough to be able to tell that she was very upset. He found himself at a loss of words. _What to say, how to mend this?_ How much did she know, and how much could he say? She solved his dilemma by speaking up first, fiery sparks in her eyes showing him exactly how displeased with him she was.

"So that's what you do, then? You say you're not gonna leave, and then you're off the next moment? Why'd you even come back?"

One question followed another as she remained motionless, every word pointed out by the resentment in her voice. He told himself that there was more to it than he could see on the surface; a consolation, if you will. The way the corners of her lips just barely trembled when she spoke, or the way her fingers stretched out and clenched tightly into fists repeatedly as her arms remained idle at her sides. She wasn't just furious. There was more.

Problem was, it couldn't have been positive. How was disappointment or... Or even _hurt_... Any better than anger?

He forced himself not to look away from her, determined to hold her gaze until she surrenders hers. He remained silent for a few precious seconds, weighing his options: honesty or falseness? To lie or not to lie? A lie would be a quick and easy fix, but he wasn't much for lying, not about things that actually mattered, not about-

" _Don't_. Don't lie."

The Doctor opened his eyes wide in surprise. Two weeks in and she could read him like a book? Not good, not good _at all_. His chest heaved with a sigh, breathing in the crisp evening air, but not bringing any clarity to his mind.

She gave him a moment, but he knew it wouldn't last long, and it didn't. When she opened her mouth to speak again, he interrupted her, his voice strained as he spoke.

"I-I'm not good at this... This sort of thing, Rose."

Her brows creased in surprise, her teeth once again finding her bottom lip as her brown eyes remained fixed on him. She looked at him expectantly, but he did not follow up on his statement. What more was there to say? He really wasn't any good at this. He was rather rubbish at it all, in fact. No point lying to anyone about it. He'd never be as good as she'd hope him to be - never a human, always a bit distant, never the kind of friend she'd deserve.

Which, of course, didn't mean that he didn't _want_ to be a friend. He was just an... Inadequate friend. With a time traveling machine. Yup.

"That's it? That's all you're going to say? Look, Doctor-" His hearts sped up at the way she spoke his name. She forced her gaze away from him, much to his dismay. "Look, I thought we were goin' to travel together, yeah? I was just about to tell my parents. Didn't know what I was gonna say, but I'd tell them! I'd just make something up, and I hate that, but I'd do it because..." she trailed off. "And then you just- You just wander off. And you always tell me-"

Hearing the struggle in her tone made him want to reach out and pull her into his embrace. Rest his chin at the top of her head, draw tiny little circles across her back, pull her closer still until she was pressed flush against him, their breaths mixing together, and...

And he would _never_ do that.

"Not to wander off," he offered, sensing that she was losing her voice.

"Yes! _Not to wander off_! And what do _you_ do?" Rose looked at him again, more angry now than sad.

He combed his fingers through his hair, his mouth falling open for a split second as his tongue traveled across the roof of his mouth. Yet another nervous reaction of this body, something he would normally control, but his mind was too pre-occupied to even take note of it.

"Rose, I..."

What, in Rassilon's name, was he supposed to say? What to even _do?_ How do you speak to humans? He'd see them every single day, but know them? No. Not like that. Not anymore.

"I swear, if you're just going to make something up, jus'... Just don't bother, okay?"

He swallowed down the lump that had formed inside his clenched throat and then broke his own promise by looking to the ground, away from her. He then nodded in agreement. Alright. He'd do it her way, since he didn't know any other.

He heard her exhale as she said, "Where were you, then? Why did you... Why did you just go on a trip through London? I thought we... I thought you wanted me to... You know. Travel with you."

Not seeing her expression made it even harder to decipher the way she felt at the time, but he couldn't bring himself to lock his eyes with hers. Damage control. Fix what he broke and reveal nothing more. What else could he do?

"I thought you wouldn't agree to that."

It took him a moment to realize that the loud, repeated _thud_ he heard in his ears was the sound of his own hearts, racing inside his rib cage as if he was in the middle of running a marathon.

"What? How d'you mean?"

"Weeell, you humans, you just sort of, err..." he paused, looking for the right word. "You just stay in packs. In your cozy little human homes, on your, admittedly rather lovely, planet. I thought- I thought you'd want to stay. With your... Family."

"And that's why you ran off? 'cos you thought I'd be staying 'ere?"

A wave of embarrassment washed over him as he nodded his head _yes_. The conversation didn't exactly turn out the way he hoped, it wasn't casual, he wasn't keeping his distance, and he felt more exposed than he'd ever wish to be, friend or foe.

And scared, because he still didn't know if she would stick around after all that had transpired in the past thirty minutes.

"Then _why_ did you come back?" she whispered. Keeping his head down low suddenly took some effort; he heard the change in her voice, he wanted to _see_ the change in her countenance, but he wasn't entirely sure of his own reactions. Too long a while spent without humans and dealing with that sort of thing, they were complex little creatures with their funny little brains, and Rose... Rose wasn't _little_ in any way. Although, a tad shorter than his current body, but not short, no. And her personality, oooh, it was a story of its own, that; all sorts of big and brilliant and ever so surprising.

"Because I didn't want to go."

The full honesty of his statement took him by surprise. She fell silent and he lost yet another battle, because despite the risks, he raised his eyes to meet hers; two deep pools of brown that seemed to burn holes straight through his soul. It was odd, uneasy and peaceful at the same time. He'd never felt drawn to anybody that way before. Companions came and went, taking little bits of his hearts with them, that was the way of things. Why would losing Rose Tyler, whom he'd known for a whole of fifty-seven human days, only sixteen of which he spent with her, suddenly feel so _wrong_?

It just _did_. That was all he knew.

"You didn't?" Rose muttered.

"No. No, of course I didn't, I just..." He raked his fingers through his hair again and cleared his throat. "I told you. I'm not good at that sort of thing. Never was very well-versed with these things, and weeell, I'm a tad rusty. You know, rusty? Out of practice? Not used to-"

"Yeah, yeah. But," she interrupted, "does this mean that you _do_ want me to go with you?"

"Oh, yes. Absolutely."

"Are you _really_ sure, Doctor? 'cause if you are, you're not gonna do this again. You won't just run off because you think I'm leaving or somethin'. D'you get that? I've heard enough broken promises in my life. And if we're gonna be..." she paused. "If we're gonna be _friends_ , you can't just decide these things for me, alright? I'm a normal person. I can think for myself."

A glimmer of hope settled inside his hearts; at that point he'd likely agree to give her his favorite pair of Converse just to get her to come back on the TARDIS with him, so her set of rules seemed like a relatively easy guideline to follow. Rassilon, he'd even give her his sonic screwdriver! Or even his favorite banana flavored cookies! Not all, mind you, but a few. Two or three. Or one.

Or all and then some.

"I'm sure, oh, I'm _so_ sure, Rose Tyler!" he exclaimed happily, feeling his lips stretch out in a wide grin. "It's going to be brilliant, I tell you. Plenty of places for us to go. New Earth, great place! It's the Earth, but rebuilt from scratch! Very similar planet. Or New New Earth! That's the third Earth, and they have all sorts of fancy things, like teleportation vehicles or a surgery for a pair of actual wings. Imagine that, Rose, flying humans! Can you picture that? Just flying about?"

What was that feeling? Happiness? Had he even felt anything remotely resembling that since the War? No, but she...

Oh, she smiled at him and smacked his arm, muttering something about him being daft, and that he'd get it if he ever ditched her like that again. He wasn't sure what _it_ was, but he knew more than well that he would never leave her out of choice, not after this. He'd try to have a friend, whether he deserved it or not. He'd try to make it all up to her by making her smile just like that, tongue poking out at the corner of her mouth, and above all, he wouldn't let her down again.

"Friends?" she asked with a grin that was both uncertain and happy. He was glad to find no traces of anger, although he found less trust in those brown eyes of hers than he had seen just earlier that day.

"If you like," he replied casually, smiling back at her, his mind already drifting to all sorts of ways of earning back her damaged faith in him. Perhaps the cookies were a good idea, after all.

"Maybe."

The Doctor raised his brows in surprise, but when he found her teasing expression, he knew that the _maybe_ meant a _yes_ this time around.

"I do have to go back inside, though. Mum and dad are goin' to send out a search party for me soon. We didn't even finish our dinner, 'cos I ran out when I..."

He nodded in acknowledgement, fighting the urge to hold her and not let her go anywhere. Why would such an urge even exist? He was being ridiculous, that's what he was, and he really ought to _stop_.

"You're not gonna come in, are you?" Rose asked shyly.

"Err, I... Do I _have_ to?"

She chuckled softly. "I dunno. I mean, I have to tell them something. What am I going to say?"

"That we're going traveling! That's true, isn't it?" he suggested triumphantly, because it really did seem like she _would_ come with him after all, and that felt very, very pleasant.

"Not exactly. I won't be mentioning the aliens and things, will I?" She sighed heavily, looking up to the sky. "I don't like lying to them, Doctor."

He didn't know what to say. He didn't like to lie either, but he knew more than well that most humans would not accept the truth of the situation until being personally faced with it, and-

"ROSE! Rose, where on earth have you two gone off to? Come back inside! And bring that paper thin hair model with you, will ya?"

Right. Her mother. Probably won't become his favorite person in the world, no, not very likely.

"Go on then. Two minutes?"

"But Rose..."

"You owe me," she said with a mischievous smile.

He exhaled and frowned in reluctance, but soon stuffed his hands inside his pockets and gave in. "Fine. But I'm not staying for any dinner! Didn't sound good, that. Or smell good, for that matter. Could smell it all the way over here. Your mother's not a very good cook, is she?"

"You're so rude, Doctor," Rose giggled, pulling at all the right chords in his hearts. And then pulling at something less metaphorical. His arm. His hand ending up in hers.

That strange current ran through his whole body again, emanating from their joined hands, and he squeezed her fingers before she had the chance to do something unpleasant, such as, weeell, let go. Of him.

She dragged him towards the house, and he made sure to walk at an excruciatingly slow pace, prolonging his little moment of victory. Rose Tyler would be going with him after all, and she even took his hand! A small gesture, but also something he hadn't done for years, not really, not like that. Not with a _friend_.

It was good, and for that moment, everything was rather _peachy_. And the Doctor didn't like peaches much. He preferred bananas. But that kind of peachy, he'd take that any time. Even over bananas.

* * *

Three minutes in and he was _suffering_. He might have jumped out of the window if not for Rose glaring at him when he yawned during her mother's flurry of questions, freezing him in place with just one look. He felt an enormous amount of remorse at nearly abandoning her earlier, so he didn't have the hearts to ignore it the way he wanted to and just go back to the TARDIS with no regard for Jackie Tyler's feelings. After all, the mother's feelings were probably somehow tied to her daughter, so he tried to endure the chatter against his own will.

A phone call directed to her father became his unexpected savior, as Jackie Tyler fell silent, listening in on the conversation. Her husband appeared distressed as he blurted out short words seemingly at random.

"What? Fire? How? When? I'm on my way!"

He tossed the handset away rather carelessly and looked at them, panic in his eyes.

"There's been a fire in the lab! Everything's burnin' up! There was still people there. I've got to go!"

"What? A fire at Vitex?" Rose exclaimed, following her father out of the room, the Doctor and Jackie right behind them, the latter screaming out various questions.

"Yes! I'm goin'. You lot stay here. I'll keep you posted."

A fire at Vitex would have bothered the Doctor even if the whole thing with Jin'lar had never happened, but with the knowledge of previous alien activity in the building, he was instantly aware of the possibilities. He exchanged a look with Rose, and despite the grim situation, he was happy to find the same conclusions and determination etched across his companion's face. They both nodded at each other in silent agreement.

"No, I'm comin' with you!" she protested, following her father to the car.

"Oh, me too. Can't miss out on that, can I?" he muttered happily and soon felt Rose kick his ankle. "What was that for?!"

"Rude!" she whispered. "We've got to take the car with dad. Can't let them see the TARDIS."

He sighed, knowing that she was right, but leaving the TARDIS behind was a bad idea. He then remembered that he pretended to use his ship to advertise paint (he made a mental note to apologize to his wonderful time machine when it was all over), and quickly made up a story about how it'd be faster than a car, so him and Rose would go ahead and Pete would catch up. The man bought it and agreed to everything in his distress, although still reluctant to let his daughter even go there in the first place. His wife also went inside the car, rushing her husband and urgently advising that the Doctor was _careful with that box of his, whatever he's usin' it for_ , and soon, they drove away.

Another quick look later, him and Rose wasted no time at getting inside the TARDIS, setting the right coordinates and materializing on the other side of the road from Vitex. When they stepped out of the ship, Rose gasped audibly at the sight before their eyes.

The whole floor number fourteen was on fire.

This time around, it was he who took her hand. It just felt natural, necessary somehow, and she didn't seem to disagree, because she squeezed him tightly and shot him a worried look.

"Well then, Rose Tyler. It seems we've got to run!"

She swallowed thickly and nodded. He still held her hand as they ran across the street, past the firemen, straight into the building.

Running into trouble was what they seemed to do best. Why should that day be any different?

* * *

 **A/N:** It's been ages, I know and I apologize, and I thank you for being so patient with me and so wonderful. Your support keeps me writing, even if I've had a break now, but as I said before, this is _not_ the norm. Nor will it ever be. As a sneak peek, _the next chapter will finally focus more on Rose and the Doctor_ , exploring their growing relationship. Thank you for your reviews, and please let me know of your thoughts. You motivate me so much :) I'll see you soon with the next chapter, and don't read below if you don't want to: it's just a personal rant/explanation for my absence, so it's not really important.

So, I've had a pretty bad case of writer's block. I'd write every night and erase most of it the next day, and although I did write a Tentoo/Rose one-shot, I've struggled with this story for a few days. And then a friend of mine passed away, and everything felt so... Final, somehow, that I really didn't feel like writing fluff or doing anything much at all. It was hard, but I made it out of my writing block and finished up this chapter in a matter of two or three hours, and it felt _good_. So yeah, here's why I've been missing. I'm not bored of the story - I hope you aren't either - and I won't stop writing it until it's done, which won't be for many chapters still.

Thank you for your support, again. You're all amazing :)


	7. No Turning Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and the Doctor save Vitex, but there are consequences.

_"There's been a fire in the lab! Everything's burnin' up! There was still people there. I've got to go! You lot stay here. I'll keep you posted," Pete said in distress, rushing out of the house._

_"No, I'm comin' with you!" Rose protested, following her father to the car._

_"Oh, me too. Can't miss out on_ that _!" The Doctor chimed in happily._

_Arrangements were made, and moments later, the TARDIS materialized in front of the Vitex headquarters._

_The whole floor number fourteen was on fire._

_He held her hand as they ran across the street, past the firemen, straight into the building. Running into trouble was what they seemed to do best. Why should that day be any different?_

**~oOo~**

Two weeks with the Doctor and Rose was already used to being in trouble. No wonder, really, as it happened  _every-single-day_ , and she didn't really mind. She hated to see suffering, pain and loss, but they always saved what they could, and in the end, they solved a great deal of problems all over the universe. This time, they had to save the one thing her father was most proud of: his company. Rose would never forget all the late nights her dad had spent at the office or his tired eyes in the morning at breakfast, when he never failed to kiss her on the forehead before leaving for work, even though he slept for what, two, three hours a night. And her mum, always packing him lunch and making sure that he'd get some peace and calm after he got home from work, even though she too worked a full-time job until just a few years ago. Her parents loved each other, and they both worked hard for their current life.

Losing Vitex would likely destroy her dad. It was his pride and joy, she knew that.

They've ran into their first obstacle as soon as they crossed the street. The firemen, policemen and medical personnel wouldn't allow them inside, no matter the Doctor's stubborn persuasion. Figures, the emergency crew considered them to be regular civilians, which she very well may have been, but the Doctor most certainly was  _not_. Besides, the fire didn't start until the fourteenth floor, and according to the Doctor, that's where they'd find all their answers. Conclusion: they had to come up with a different solution, as fighting their way through dozens of fit blokes was just not going to happen.

"There's a back door? We could go through that," she offered. They were standing by the TARDIS again, after being threatened with immediate arrest if they didn't leave the firemen alone. The Doctor was a bit too loud, and she a bit too unwilling to surrender.

He pondered her suggestion and then shook his head. "Naaah, there's bound to be more of them higher up. Why did the psychic paper say that I was a professor of  _fireology_? Is it broken? New screwdriver, new psychic paper, and guess who's gonna do all the work..." he grumbled, pacing back and forth.

"Well, we've got to get up there! The whole floor is burnin' up! There might still be people in there!"

"What we need to do," he said thoughtfully, "is get up there and find the source of the fire. This isn't an accident, Rose. Jin'lar likely used the labs for his own benefit, and remember, in Earth's time, the whole thing happened just a few hours ago! This might be some sort of a, weeeell, emergency back-up system, if you will. The creator is gone, everything goes  _boom_! Rather primitive, that. And a little violent. Me, I'm not a big fan of violence. Talking, talking is what solves problems! Or my sonic screwdriver. That is, when it actually  _works_."

"You mean we have to jump straight into the fire?" she asked in disbelief. She still wasn't quite over him so obviously running away from her like what, twenty minutes earlier, and now this...

His face brightened considerably at her question. He grabbed her by the shoulders with a manic, happy grin on his face, and she almost thought he'd pull her in for a hug, but of course, he didn't. Why on earth would he? Get a grip, Rose! There's a fire going on!

"Now, Rose Tyler, that is  _brilliant_! Yes, yes it is! Although, we won't be  _jumping_  into the fire. We'll be flying into it! Come on!"

He pushed her inside the TARDIS, nearly making her stumble and fall, but when she lost her balance, his hands quickly grabbed her by the waist to keep her upright. The strangely intimate contact made her feel uneasy; like she couldn't decide whether she wanted him to bring her closer or to leave her alone. She steadied herself and shied away from him, then went on to the consoles. When she looked back over her shoulders, she found him dazed, but it didn't last long. He shook his head and followed, that smug, happy grin finding its way back on his face.

"We'll just fly the TARDIS straight into the lab! I'll activate the shields, so we'll be able to step out and look around without getting  _too_ scorched. It'll just be a tad warm. Warm is nice, isn't it? You humans always complain about the cold! Then I'll just do some, err, jiggery-pokery on whatever's wrong, fire's fixed, everything is peachy! Now then, hold on tight!"

Giving her no time to react to his insane idea, he pulled at the levers and sent them flying for like, two seconds, during which she managed to nearly twist her arm while she held on to the railing. Another thing to be aware of when traveling with the Doctor: he simply  _can't_  drive his ship without it turning into this, um, earthquake of sorts. 's alright, though. Part of the fun.

Flying straight into a fire didn't sound  _that_  fun, but it was her dad's company. She took a deep breath and followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS, prepared for the worst.

* * *

 

She might have thought herself prepared for just about anything, but she was  _not_ quite prepared for what they found upon arriving at their destination.

The flames were very close to them, not close enough to burn their skin, but definitely close enough to make her feel much, much too hot. They weren't far inside the lab, no, in fact, the staircase was just a few feet away from them... And down the stairs, behind a couple of firemen who were trying to douse the raging fire, were her parents. Yes,  _both_  her parents, the pair of them seemingly frozen as they watched their daughter step out of a blue box, which appeared out of nowhere, mere seconds before.

"ROSE! Rose, what on earth-"

"Sweetheart! Oh, Rose, what are you doing here? What's this? How'd you even get in here? Are you alright?!"

"Lady, you've got to get out of here! I said, no civilians! You're gonna get hurt!"

"That's my daughter, right there! Get her out!"

"Miss! Sir! Are you okay?"

Everything was a blur, her surroundings steaming hot and hazy. How would she ever explain all this to them? How did they even manage to come up when she and the Doctor were not allowed to? Probably 'cos her dad owned the company, but still... It wasn't safe for them to even be there! They weren't  _supposed_  to be there. She planned on telling them one day, she did, but not now, not like this.

"Rose." His familiar voice, soothing even if slightly distressed, pulled her out of the shocked state she found herself trapped in. "Rose, this can wait. You need to help me. D'you see that table over there? With the vials?" He pointed to their right, and she reluctantly forced her gaze away from her parents and onto the piece of furniture. Yeah. Table, vials, got it. She nodded.

"I need to get there. Need to destroy them, or the fire won't go out. But the ship's shields don't reach that far. I've got this... This, err,  _extinguisher_. Thing. Of sorts. Weeell, technically it's not exactly an extinguisher, but! You've got to keep it active so I can pass through, alright?"

He bore his eyes into hers, looking at her intently but also carefully, as if sensing how she was feeling, tuned in to her distress. She'd never be able to explain any of this to her parents, not ever, not to mention that she wanted them as far out of danger as possible. It was one thing when she and the Doctor ran into trouble, and another when her family was involved.

Right. Fire. She had to concentrate, and quick.

"Yeah. Okay." She gulped, surprised with the shivers that ran down her spine despite the heat around them. Her parents kept shouting at her, as did the firemen, but she couldn't pay it any mind right now. She had to help the Doctor.

He reached into his pocket and produced a strange, alien contraption, one that sort of created this- this  _shell_  around him. She had no idea, not really, only that it worked. He made his way through the flames and buzzed his sonic at the multi-colored vials.

She remained focused on the task at hand despite her own personal distress, until she felt somebody's arms take a tight grip on her shoulders, making her lose balance, and the Doctor - his protective shell. She turned around in fear, only to find her dad with a fireman trailing behind him, shouting at them all to  _get out of there right this instant_.

"Rose! Go on, love, we've got to get out!"

Her heart leapt up to her throat. He was  _not_  supposed to follow her in there. There was so much fire! He could get hurt!

"Dad! Get out! The Doctor, he's... He's..." She turned her eyes towards the Time Lord just as the vials exploded, spilling all sorts of liquid all around. She escaped her father's grip and ran to the Doctor's side, checking if he was alright.

In mere seconds after the explosion of the vials, the fire on the whole floor just...  _Disappeared_. It wasn't doused, it didn't cease spreading, it just stopped all together, the only remainder of it being a room filled with smoke.

The whole floor went silent. To Rose, it wasn't all that surprising, not after those two weeks of travel, but it was still rather impressive. To the others, well...

Her mum was staring at her, stood behind two firemen who refused to let her through until they all froze, shocked by the sudden turn of events. Her dad stood beside the TARDIS, his fists tightly gripping thin air instead of her shoulders, all color drained from his face.

"Rose," the Doctor whispered, leaning down to reach her ear, draping his arm over her shoulder. "We need to go. Don't want the TARDIS to stand out even more today."

"Rose?" her father mouthed, otherwise still seemingly unable to speak. No wonder, really. What they witnessed was hardly your usual rescue mission.

"Rose! Pete!" Jackie shouted, breaking the spell they had all been under as she slipped past the astounded firemen and made her way towards her family.

"What the hell is goin' on, you two? John Smith?" Pete asked sternly. "You're the one who brought her here, and then you... You..."

Rose was about to interrupt him, protest against putting it all that way, but the rescue team beat her to it. The firemen ran towards all of them in a cloud of smoke, and before Rose agreed to the Doctor's insistent pleas, they were all given  masks to protect them from choking on the smoke and hastily escorted out of the building.

She heard the Doctor sigh heavily as he followed her, leaving the TARDIS behind. Was that safe for him to do? What if they'd just pry the ship open and look inside? She froze and looked back at him, finding him resigned but not upset.

"The TARDIS?" she whispered worriedly.

"She's fine, don't worry. I'll get her later."

So the time machine was fine, and the building seemed to be fine, too. But as Rose felt her mum and dad wrap their arms around her and lead her down, out of Vitex, she couldn't help but wonder if  _she_  would still be fine at the end of the day.

 

**~oOo~**

Hours passed before she was truly able to talk to her parents. The Doctor snuck away for a moment to get the TARDIS once everybody left the fourteenth floor, even though it was already all over the news.  _Mysterious police phone box found at the site of one of the biggest fires of the year!_ However, after it  _disappeared_ , everybody assumed that the witnesses were simply incoherent from all the smoke and tension involved in putting out such a big fire, so the Doctor didn't get in as much trouble as she initially expected. In fact, everybody disregarded it, just the way they usually did.

When he left, she was half convinced that he'd just run away again. It was weird, really. She trusted him - in theory. It was a young friendship, vulnerable and uncertain, and him just running away from her like that, she didn't know what to think. To be fair, she didn't have the time to think since it happened. First her parents, then the fire, and now...

The cleaning up, investigation and all lasted until the early hours of the morning, and the Doctor stayed close to her throughout, but did not crowd her. They were all busy, the questioning and everything took some time, and only after they finally left Vitex were they able to truly  _talk_. In all honesty, Rose dreaded that particular conversation like nothing else.

They all stopped in front of the TARDIS; her parents, she and the Doctor, and both her mum and dad eyed the time machine suspiciously, looking at Rose with apparent worry. It was very chilly and she shivered from the cold. Her mum pulled her in for a hug which she was happy to return, and when Pete joined in, Rose took a deep breath, deciding that there'd be no more lies.

"Rose, what was that up there? Doctor Smith?" Pete demanded as he let go of the two women in his life, his eyes flitting between the Doctor and Rose. Jackie remained silent, allowing her husband to handle this part of the whole ordeal, but Rose was certain that she'd go mad soon enough. Sigh.

She tried to keep the tone of her voice even as she said, "Mum, Dad, I'm going to travel. With the Doctor."

Mouths fell open, brows furrowed, Jackie even gasped, and Rose wished for some support, any support. She looked to the side for a split second and found the Doctor standing next to her, shooting her a comforting look. She felt better, although a part of her wished to hold his hand... But then she remembered the strange shiver that ran down her spine whenever she did so, and she shook her head at the stubborn thought.

"Traveling  _where?_ How? You don't even know the man!" Jackie cried, no longer satisfied with observing their exchange.

"Your mother's right, Rose. You've met him what, a month ago? And three weeks worth of that, he's been gone to god knows where! Just 'cos he's clever doesn't mean he's to be trusted!" Pete's voice grew louder, more insistent. "And you! What were you thinking, taking my daughter up there?  _How_  did you even get there? And that... You..." Now at a loss of words, he fell silent, his eyes nearly drilling holes in the pair of them.

Before Rose got to speak up, the Doctor said: "I haven't been  _entirely_  honest with you, Mr. Tyler. Weeell, not very honest at all, in fact. You see, the thing is, what happened up there - you very well  _know_  that you can't explain it in your human terms, can you?"

"What on earth are you even talkin' about?"

"What he's trying to say is," Rose pitched in, finding an opening for her own arguments, "The whole thing with the TARDIS-I mean, the  _blue box_ , and the fire and all, it's all connected, dad. The Doctor saved Vitex... Not just now, but before too! Think about it! The lift was all messed up, people were disappearing and they didn't remember what's happened to them! He's not a-"

"That's enough!" Pete shouted, silencing them both. "Rose, what has this man done to you? He's a straight up lunatic alright, but you're a big girl! You ought to be able to tell these things apart!"

"You could've  _died_  in there, sweetheart!" Jackie sobbed.

Rose's heart clenched. She looked and looked but could not find the words to explain something so unthinkable.

"He's done a lot  _for_  me, dad! You were there, you saw it! This thing-" She pointed at the TARDIS. "It's not just a box, yeah? He's not advertising paint! It can travel, and he's-"

The Doctor released a deep breath and interrupted her, "Ooh, alright. How about we just-" With that, he opened up the TARDIS, allowing Rose's parents to peek inside. "Cut this short? Bit boring, all this. Never liked domestics much. I've already said that, didn't I, Rose?"

He grinned at her, a smile that was both reassuring and smug, and then walked inside the ship, confidence in his stride. He stopped at the consoles, leaning against them, looking at the three of them in amusement. Jackie placed both of her hands over her mouth, eyes open wide. Pete stared, mouth agape, out of words.

"This is who I am!" The Doctor exclaimed. "This is what I do! I save people. I save planets. I travel. Not always flying around like that, though. No, that's not very good, too much attention - although, I  _do_  like to show off my rather superior driving skills, but-"

"Mum? Dad?" Rose muttered, placing her hand on her mum's arm.

Jackie turned towards her slowly.

"But this- this thing, it's a bloody  _box_! How the hell does that even work? Rose, have I been drinkin' last night? 'cos if I was, blimey if I'm ever doin' that again! Pete, look at this! What on earth is that?"

"Come on in!" Doctor shouted from the inside.

Rose's shoulders slumped in resignation. She couldn't handle the conversation herself. How could she even begin to talk about aliens and planets and moons? The Doctor was right to show them the TARDIS; it was actually nice of him. But this couldn't have been easy on her parents.

Hesitantly, the two people she loved the most in the world took their first steps inside the time machine, and she trailed behind them, preparing herself for war.

 

* * *

 

 

Of course, the TARDIS was a culture shock. It was for her, too. It took time and even tears to explain that she had traveled through both time and space and intended to continue doing so, but it was also liberating to not have to hide things from her parents anymore. It was a long, exhausting conversation, but she put her foot down and it was decided she would be packing a few things and leaving with the Doctor. Her parents looked at her, both hurt and clearly worried about her; both previously charmed by the Doctor, now very wary of him. He took note of it and tried to keep quiet, interjecting only to explain some more or less confusing technicalities. She appreciated his presence, and eventually caved and grabbed his hand as her mum started crying, asking her not to go.

_I need to, mum. There's all this stuff out there, all these things, and I... I don't really belong here, y'know? I wanna travel. There's just... So much out there. It's amazing, mum, really is._

Those were her exact words, and her dad's piercing blue eyes nearly made her change her mind. He was so proud of her always, he loved his company and hoped that she would too. He hoped that she would reap the benefits of his hard work for the rest of her life. She wanted to say,  _maybe it's just being put on hold. You never know with the Doctor_. But she didn't, because she hoped that it wouldn't be so. She wanted to stay until he ran away from her for good, clasping this new life until it was forced away from her.

She hugged her parents tightly and promised to come back frequently. She wasn't gonna change her mind, no, but hurting them was in turn hurting her too, and it was... It was just  _hard_.

When they left, she found herself feeling torn between wanting to jump straight into a new adventure and needing a moment to come to terms with her rather life-changing decision. She'd always have her parents to fall back on; her safety net, her one true home, she knew that. But choosing traveling over the future they wanted for her was also something she'd never erase from their memory. She briefly wondered if they'd always consider themselves, and what they had to offer, second best in her eyes.

Or maybe she was just over-thinking the whole thing? Possibly. All she knew that was that they worried about her a great deal, and that her dad must have been feeling so disappointed. He always wanted her to take over Vitex...

She sighed softly. The Doctor took the TARDIS out into the Vortex, so she opened up the door, still somewhat scared of the beauty that awaited her outside the ship, but also finding comfort in it. It was becoming an almost familiar, if somewhat frightening sight.

He lingered in the console room with her, wordlessly keeping her company. She felt his eyes on her, but she did not turn back to face him. Essentially, they were strangers. He ran away from her mere hours ago, too. She still chose him over her family, her future. Was that the right thing to do?

Rose sat down, legs swinging carelessly, but she made sure to cling onto the ship with both her hands. She didn't trust the whole thing that much, yet.

_Rose, you can go traveling if you like! Blimey, I'll pay for it! Jus' don't run off with this lunatic! Honest to god, I wish I'd never hired the man!_

_Sweetheart, this is all bonkers, 's what it is! Aliens and spaceships and things, I can believe that alright, but my daughter goin' up to see them? No! It's not safe, darling! He's dangerous, that man, that's what he is!_

_You ought to stay here with us, love. If you don't wanna work at Vitex - fine! Jus' don't-_

A lone tear traveled down her cheek. Why was this such a big deal to them? She'd visit, often. 's not like she'd be gone forever.

_Oh, come on, Rose_. She knew why. Because it was  _dangerous_. She didn't care for the danger, not really. It was thrilling in a way, exciting. Soon they'd go off on another trip and she'd stop feeling so bad about all this... Maybe.

She did not hear him as he approached her, only heard his voice when he spoke up, suddenly right next to her.

"Are you sure about this?" he muttered in a low, careful tone.

"About what?"

"Weeell,  _this_. Don't get me wrong, I'm not really an expert at all these human emotions, but- No, hold on. Of course I  _am_  an expert. I'm an expert at everything! But," he paused as he sat beside her. He'd never sat that close to her before; there was only so much room in the doorway, so both their arms, their sides and their legs were connected in this strangely unsettling way. "Even  _I_  can see that you seem rather... Unhappy."

She wiped her tears away and looked up, boring her eyes into his. He looked concerned, worried, perhaps a little unsure.

"You're not gonna ditch me again, are you?" she asked instead of responding to his question.

His expression was gravely serious as he said, "Nope. No, I won't."

"Then I'm sure."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Reaaaally really?"

She couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips, nor the blush that crept up on her cheeks when his expression brightened upon seeing her smile.

"Yeah. Guess you're sorta stuck with me for now."

"Sounds good to me!" He grinned and bumped her shoulder with his, then pointed at the stars, each of them breathtaking in its own, celestial, eternal beauty. "Where're we going now, then? I've been picking for too long. It's your turn, Rose Tyler!"

"I dunno about you, but I'm pretty knackered. I'm goin' to need a few hours of sleep before we go anywhere at all."

He groaned in mock-annoyance. "So this is what I get, eh? You lot sleep your lives away! Go on then, sleep if you like. I'm giving you four hours! Rose, did you know that Leonardo da Vinci slept for fifteen minutes, just once every four hours? You should try that. He was a brilliant man, da Vinci. Not  _completely_  right in the head, mind you, but-"

"Yeah? That sounds just like you, then," she blurted out and then corrected herself, "I mean, the  _not right in the head_  bit, 's exactly like you."

"Oi! It's not my fault that your human brain can't quite keep up with my superior Time Lord intelligence, is it? Although, you  _are_  pretty fantastic." He smiled at her earnestly, and she liked the way he said  _fantastic_ ; like it was a borrowed word that he suddenly liked the sound of. Her heart sped up ever so slightly, and his proximity combined with the messy hair, a rather gorgeous set of brown eyes, freckles and a delightful grin, made her realize that it was time to go. She signed up for the whole thing, yeah, but it just wouldn't do to  _still_  find him attractive. It'd just make things harder.

Against her own better judgment, the corners of her lips curled up in an honest smile, and she silently wished for him to keep his promise, to not leave her again. Barely knew him, already liked him.

As a  _friend_ , of course.

His expression changed when she did not avert his gaze; he studied her with interest for a fraction of a second and then cleared his throat, looking back at the stars.

"For a human, that is. Can't quite compare to a Time Lord, but weeell, I s'pose you'll do..."

She laughed out loud, knowing better than to feel insulted, smacked his arm and lifted herself off the ground. She bid him good night, and twenty minutes later, she was in her bed.

She dreamt of him and the skies up above, both equally vast, magnificent and mysterious at the same time.

 

**~oOo~**

She felt better the next day, all things considered. She called her parents first thing, told them she was okay and that she missed them, had breakfast with the Doctor in the galley (she didn't think he had slept a wink, but didn't ask him about it), and then they were off.

What followed were days filled with adventures of all sorts. Sometimes it'd all be fine and dandy, most times there'd be trouble, but all of the time it was  _amazing_. The universe was frightening in its never-ending variety, but the Doctor guided her through it expertly, and she hadn't even spent a month traveling with him before she found herself in synch with the odd Time Lord. They ran together, escaped together, devised plans together, and it was just sort of as if they  _fit_. Of course, in between all the trouble, there was a lot of laughter. He was nothing short of eccentric, a tad rude, very talkative, and although he didn't seem to know how to handle maintaining a friendship, she quickly began to refer to him as her friend, if only in her own thoughts.

Most of the time, when they were on the TARDIS, she was either sleeping, showering or tending to some other necessity. She often found him in the console room, tinkering with this or that, the tip of his tongue sticking out as he focused and then, as she assumed, cursed in a foreign language when something went wrong. They did not intrude on each other, and she didn't really insist on sitting around with him. He had a  _gorgeous_  media room with thousands of games, movies and books to choose from, so she was never bored. As much as she grew fond of the Doctor over the month she had spent traveling with him, she also knew more than well that he had a side to him that was most probably darker than what she had witnessed. He'd grow silent if she asked too many questions, his eyes becoming stormy, expression indifferent. He sometimes didn't know where to stop either, and his lack of humanity scared her at times. She didn't need to remind herself that he wasn't really human. It showed through the cracks in the armor he seemed to wear on a daily basis.

She gave him the space he seemed to need, but then, four weeks in, he started to seek her company in the evenings. He'd make up daft excuses to get her to stick around and watch him mess up yet another kitchen appliance or listen as he told her about the Great War of This-Or-That-Planet, stuff like that. She could tell that he struggled to come up with a reason, but fought it just to get her to stay.

She liked it better than she ought to have.

See, thing was, with all his oddities, he still remained ridiculously attractive, Rose still ( _unfortunately_ ) remained well aware of it, and the electric current that pulsed between them whenever they touched,  _that_  was still there, too. At the same time, there were still days when she wasn't sure if he'd call her a friend or a mascot, a traveling companion, someone to fill the emptiness that he never spoke of. She just didn't know him all that well, adventures or not.

But then, somewhere around the fifth week, they were in the console room, just talking. The Doctor made the TARDIS translate his native language into English just so that she could read a line in some book, and a question occurred to her.

"Hold on. D'you always have to make the ship translate Gallifreyan?"

"Weeell, yes. She doesn't do it by default. Didn't feel necessary."

"So, wait. That means you're speaking English right now?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"'course I am, Rose! What sort of a genius d'you take me for? I can speak over a thousand languages! There's no need to overwork my poor TARDIS, is there?" He stroked the console affectionately, forcing Rose to suppress a chuckle.

"And if you'd say something in your language, would it be translated?"

His focus shifted away from the ship and onto her. Her eyes were filled with curiosity, his - with uncertainty.

"Nope. Not unless I'd play with the settings a tad. Although, I'm not so sure about how well she'd handle translating speech..." he mumbled, looking back at the screens. "Perhaps if I'd adjust the speech infiltrators..."

She lightly elbowed his side to draw his attention back to her. He was wearing a pair of rather thick glasses, which she thought suited him well. He pulled the specs down the bridge of his nose and glued his eyes to hers in a mute question.

"D'you think you could... I dunno, say something in your language? In Gallifreyan. I wanna know what it sounds like. If you don't mind?"

His mouth fell open for a split second. He froze just like that, gaze locked with hers, and through those brown eyes of his, she could almost see the inner conflict. He wasn't easy to read by any stretch, but his face was so expressive that she was starting to pick up on the signs. He looked as though he was in pain, just as he did every time his planet, his home was even mentioned. She never dared to ask him about it.

"Or don't. I mean, it was just an idea, yeah? 's okay if you don't want to, Doctor, really-"

"No, it's fine," he interjected, swallowing down the turmoil and offering her a small smile. "I'm just not sure if your human ears can handle the sound of pure Gallifreyan, Rose. It's really rather  _exquisite_."

She smiled back at his excuse and said, "Go on, then. Try me."

The Doctor's expression changed again, now devoid of any signs of jest. He turned to face her fully, his eyes almost overflowing with emotions she found herself struggling to name. Aaaand there it was. Her heart was racing  _again_. This whole  _getting a grip_  thing hadn't been going according to plan, not really.

Just as she thought he'd never speak up, words spilled from his lips. The language was melodious, almost like a song, sophisticated and fascinating. And the tone of his voice - oh, that was something else entirely; his voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, soft and husky, like she'd never heard it before.

She had absolutely no idea what it was that he just said, but she  _loved_  the way he said it. He could've told her the recipe for a tomato soup for all she cared, the way he looked at her was...

No. Stop.

She gulped and broke the silence before it became too uncomfortable, finding herself uneasy under his watchful stare. "It was lovely, Doctor. What did you say?"

He closed his eyes, delaying the response by mere seconds, and then chuckled, shaking his head as he turned back towards the screens, breaking the strange tension that lingered between them.

"Ha! That's a bit too much for one day, don't you think? Not telling you!"

"What?! Come on!" she cried, but the more she insisted, the more he laughed and refused. Insufferable bloke, really. It's always the good looking ones that act like that, isn't it? 'course it is. She was stupid to even bother; she promised herself not to think of it anymore when they parted for the night, but 'course, she could hardly think of anything else. That was stupid of her, too.

Even more stupid to sneak away from her bedroom that night, into the console room, for once hoping  _not_  to find him there and having her wish come true. He must've gone to sleep, for once.

She already knew that the ship was sentient, a living being that nudged her mind whenever she was onboard. A new friend, much like the Doctor. Maybe the time machine could help sate her thirst for knowledge.

"Hey, um," she whispered, her fingers gently touching the consoles, "Look, I know you can help me. I'm really curious, y'know? About what he's said earlier. I mean, I know it's probably not important, but still... Can you help me?"

She was met with silence. The room was dark and very quiet, filled only with the hum of various machinery, not the somewhat familiar presence of the TARDIS.

"Please," she muttered, "I know you can help me. I just... I just want to know."

It didn't happen right away, but she eventually felt the TARDIS nudge her mind ever so slightly. It was an odd feeling, but not intrusive. She knew that the ship didn't mean any harm, but she still couldn't decipher the messages she was receiving.

"I don't know what you're saying," Rose admitted in a dejected tone. "I don't understand you any better than I do him, y'know."

She could almost hear an echo of laughter inside her mind as one of the screens suddenly lit up. Everything was in Gallifreyan and she thought it just wasn't gonna happen, but then...

She saw the Doctor's face, a recording of it no doubt, speaking the words she heard just a few hours ago, that half-melody, half-speech sort of thing. And then, after he was finished, his projection spoke again, this time in English.

" _Since I've met you, the stars have shone brighter."_

The screen turned itself off, enveloping her in darkness once again.

Darkness which was filled with only one sound.

The sound of her own heart, racing in her chest, against her will and in a direction she still couldn't predict.

* * *

**A/N:** Didn't quite get to explore their growing  _friendship_  (cough, cough) as much as I hoped, but now there'll only be the two of them in the picture, so that helps. Thank you so much for your encouraging reviews. I seem to be done with my writer's block and the story should be picking up pace now. :) Let me know if you liked the fluff. You're all fantastic, thank you!


	8. Not So Empty After All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor mucks things up, and fixing them proves to be quite distressing.

_She saw the Doctor's face, a recording of it no doubt, speaking the words she heard just a few hours ago, that half-melody, half-speech sort of thing. And then, after he was finished, his projection spoke again, this time in English._

_"Since I've met you, the stars have shone brighter."_

_The screen turned itself off, enveloping her in darkness once again._

_Darkness which was filled with only one sound._

_The sound of her own heart, racing in her chest, against her will and in a direction she still couldn't predict._

**~oOo~**

The Doctor was alone on the TARDIS. To a human ear, the ship would've seemed silent, but he felt her presence in his mind just as well as one would hear alarm bells. Throughout the years, his ship remained his one constant companion; where others came and went, she remained, and the Doctor always found comfort in the thought that he was never truly alone, not as long as he had his time machine.

Only now, he _did_ feel slightly lonely, and it was an odd feeling. He'd grown so accustomed to being on his own, that now, with Rose gone for just a few hours, he could hardly find a place for himself and his tired thoughts to be.

It's been two months of travel for the pair of them - in Earth time, that is - and Rose went home to visit her parents. Initially he wanted to just drop her off and not even come in to greet them, but she convinced him otherwise, trying to get them to _warm up to him_. They hadn't seen her since the fire at Vitex, so the Doctor assumed that they'd dislike him just as much as they did on that day, but they were rather civil. All things considered. Although... Weeell, her mum did slap him pretty hard, and that's when Rose said that he'd better wait for her in the TARDIS. He was much, much inclined to agree. So, there he was.

How long could it possibly take? He no longer thought she'd be persuaded to stay, or... Well... She may be. But that didn't make him want to run. No, if anything, he wanted to run to her, and if not for the fact that he'd only make things more difficult between her and her parents, he'd go right back, slap or no slap. Even though it still _hurt_. Jackie Tyler sure knew how to hand out her wrath.

He knew that Rose called her parents on a regular basis, but he didn't ask her about the state of things between them. She was down for a good few days after packing up and truly joining him on the TARDIS, he could tell; in the end though, their adventures cheered her up. Soon enough, they were spending every waking moment together, and he stopped looking for excuses to get her to stay with him until she went to bed, because he found that they were simply not needed. He constantly sought her company, whether it was wrong or right, but she too didn't seem to mind being around him even during those slower moments, evenings and mornings, when her human habits forced them to pause for a while.

He raked his fingers through his hair and exhaled heavily. He was trying to kill time by tinkering with some old piece of garbage (that was Rose's description of it, in fact) that he found on the last planet they'd visited. He tried, but he couldn't focus, his mind pre-occupied with just one question.

Just _when_ did every single thought of his start to revolve around Rose Tyler?

His last incarnation traveled alone. He planned to keep it that way with this one. Well, needless to say, that didn't work out. But where was all the distance he told himself he'd keep? He didn't need a friend. He just wanted someone to brighten his existence, if only by a little. He wasn't supposed to feel even _worse_ when she was gone. He was supposed to be indifferent.

Only it wasn't so easy. Because suddenly, he couldn't stand being alone. It wasn't just the way she marveled at everything that he also found to be beautiful in the universe, it was the way she could coax a smile out of him at any given time, help him forget the past and pretend that it never happened.

And then she'd go to bed and he would...

Rassilon. That's another story entirely. Some nights, he'd lie awake and remember all the terror, guilt, loss and pain and he'd desperately wish for her to wake up and chase it all away, if only for a while. Other nights, he'd sleep and wake up screaming, but she never heard him. Isolated walls. Good. Sign of weakness, those nightmares. He didn't deserve anything but the worst of them.

Some nights, he'd lie awake and think of her, and on those nights, everything felt so light. The stars were never closer to him than they were then, when he'd allow his companion to creep into his thoughts.

She was a friend. She had quite a temper, mind you. She'd still get mad at him for this and that... Sometimes she'd get mad for nothing, too. But he rarely felt concerned with it, because in the end, they were still fine. Two months of _more than fine_.

Thing was, he felt this... This strange sort of... Thing. Yup. From that first moment in the lift. It was unsettling more than it was welcome; wellll, actually, it was quite unwelcome. The Doctor liked to know where he stood. He didn't know where he stood now, metaphorically speaking. Nope. Not at all.

He heard the door open so he turned around on the spot and saw her come in. Rose closed the door and leaned against it, taking a deep breath and rubbing her eyes tiredly before even saying a word to him. He remained by the consoles, unable to contain his grin, but also well aware of the fact that she didn't seem quite too happy.

"Hello!" he exclaimed cheerfully, and only then did she look up and offer him a worn out smile.

"Hello," she responded softly, then proceeded to take off her jacket and toss it across the railing, the way he often did with his coat. "Blimey, I think this whole _warming up to you_ thing is going to have to wait. As far as mum's concerned, you're the devil in disguise."

He chuckled, but then focused his gaze on her and asked, "Everything alright?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I guess so. They're just worried about me, 's all. My dad, he's- he's more, um... He's more okay with you, I s'pose. But mum thinks I ought to stay back home, you know, find a job, get married, that sort of thing."

He sighed. That was exactly what he expected to happen, and the worst thing was, he couldn't even blame the Tylers. Their adventures were hardly safe in any shape or form. He didn't say anything, only watched as she sighed tiredly once more and headed over to the galley, asking him if he'd fancy a cuppa. He nodded and followed. Ten minutes later, they were both sitting at the opposite ends of the table, each with a cup of tea in hand, and he hardly knew what to say. He wanted to do what he usually did - babble on about this and that, brilliant things, all of it! - but it felt wrong to do so. He wanted to cheer her up. But how? Nooo idea. Not exactly an adept at human contact, was he?

"Your parents," he began without any second thought, "what'd they say?"

"Ah, you know. The usual. Y'know, they wanted me to work at Vitex, but I didn't, right? I was just coming in twice a week." He nodded and she picked up where she left off. "That's 'cos my dad would really love it if I took over the company one day, but I... I just..."

She looked down at her cup of tea, both of her hands firmly grasping the mug, and he just barely noticed that her lower lip was trembling. His hearts clenched, but he remained silent until she spoke up again.

"I dunno, I guess I just thought I'd rather get somewhere on my own, you know? But 's like, they don't really understand why. And I get that, I do. They've worked so hard for us to be where we are now, and I just... Well, I guess I threw it all away and... I don't even know."

The Doctor scanned his brain for all the common comforting phrases humans often used. _It's going to be fine. They'll understand. They love you. Forgive yourself. Be happy._

He nearly winced at all of those, but held back to avoid giving her the wrong impression. All of it was so cliché, even if most of it was true. It wasn't hard to notice how much the Tylers adored their only daughter, and as long as he'd keep her safe, they would accept her choice one day, he was certain of it.

He briefly noted how strange it was to ponder things in this way; suggesting that her presence with him really _was_ final, that she'd really really stay. He hoped for that, but he'd never be sure.

He'd spent too long without humans. How do you comfort their lot? How do you even _talk_ to them? Rose was so different from him in all the best ways, he didn't even know where to start. Before he'd made up his mind in regards to the course of action, she got up and tossed her mug into the sink for the TARDIS to wash up, then mumbled something about going to take a shower, but her expression was so very crestfallen, he didn't wish to let her go like that.

With not much time left to stop her, he ended up acting on instinct. He stood and blocked her way just as she was about to leave; only then did her eyes meet his again, this time with a dimmed kind of curiosity, as if she wanted to ask, _What?_

The Doctor didn't answer her silent question. He simply wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug.

Mind you, that wasn't their first hug, but it was their first _deliberate_ hug. It did happen that they'd jump into each other's arms after a successful escape from this or that, but it was a spur of the moment thing. This embrace happened on the TARDIS, in a safe place, and the sensation was brand new to the Doctor as his arms were wrapped around Rose. She remained still, very very still, and he could hear her heart racing along with the two of his own, could hear her draw sharp, quick breaths and let them out in short, labored exhales. Her face was tucked somewhere near the crook of his neck, and the feeling of skin against skin sent more shivers down his spine than he'd be able to account for.

A few seconds passed and he almost started regretting his spontaneous gesture. He was the Doctor, for Rassilon's sake! Spontaneity was his second name, but _not_ with humans! Not like this! He didn't deserve it, not one bit, not after all the things he'd-

_Oh_. As his own breathing grew erratic and his two hearts pounded in his chest, Rose sighed contently and returned the hug, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her cheek against his shoulder.

Oh. Just... Oh. Alright. That's... That's _fine_ , too.

Her whole body was pressed flush against his, and much to his dismay, he was _too_ aware of that fact. That strange sensation, even when they only held hands, let's just say that _this_ wasn't making it any easier on him.

Should he let go of her? Stand there like that for a little while? What should he do? Torn between running away and pulling her even closer, her question caught him by surprise.

"Are you alright, Doctor?" she muttered into his shoulder without breaking their embrace.

He wanted to respond, but he... He just _couldn't_. He couldn't choke out a word, a syllable, not even a sound. He wanted to nod, but he felt frozen to the spot, unable to move unless it was to-

He flinched away from her as if she was hotter than the sun, threatening to burn him alive if he'd allow himself even as much as an extra second of this forbidden bliss. Making very sure not to look at her, he turned around and just as he was about to bolt out of the galley, with only escape on his mind, her fingers grasped the sleeve of his jacket, forcefully keeping him in place.

"What're you doing? What's wrong? Did I- Did I do somethin'?"

Her voice was very small, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears, and he felt very upset with himself. That was not the plan, Doctor! He was meant to be _cheering her up_! Oh, he should've never-

"Doctor? Look at me."

With a sigh, he turned around and faced her. She was all worry and confusion, he knew her well enough to see; her eyes were slightly moist, her lower lip stood out in a small pout until she bit down on it, perhaps a little too hard. What to say? What to do?

"Yes, I, errr, no! No, you didn't do anything, Rose. I just thought we might- we could- we- we _should_ go somewhere. What d'you think? New Earth! Oh, but that's a _brilliant_ planet! Year five billion, sun expands, the Earth gets roasted, and you lot move to a new place. What d'you think, Rose? Let's go!" he blurted out, word after word, averting her gaze and rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he stared at some spot right above her shoulder. She looked right at him, though. She was braver than he'd ever be.

Because it was _brave_. To just bare yourself to someone and let them be... Close. Subject yourself to the possibility of loss. It was u-...Un... Unthinkable, that's what it was. His expression hardened as he made the decision to hide himself where he was safe: in his own mind. Not allowing anybody in. Especially not Rose. He'd walk away, let her have the evening off, then tomorrow he'd forget the way her body felt against his. He'd forget.

He'd have to. What choice did he have?

"Why d'you always do that?" she asked in a hurt tone. His resolve crumbled. He had to look at her.

She was a heartbreaking sight, showing him just how much he made a bad day even worse. She looked vulnerable, so easy to hurt, and he didn't wish to harm her.

"Do what?" he responded, his voice colder than intended, hiding his own thoughts.

"Push me away. Sort of. I mean, you still haven't told me anything about yourself. Not your past, family, nothing, and I... I dunno, I just... Wonder."

_Your past. Family._

_ Nothing. _

Each word echoed long after it was spoken, resembling a blade, cutting his two hearts open and then slicing them in half. Images of the War flooded his mind, clouding both his eyes and his own better judgment.

"That's because there is nothing to tell."

The warmth that filled him when he held her was long gone now. He was a warrior. He didn't want to be, but he was. And a warrior's main objective is survival.

If he was to survive, he'd have to keep himself safe, somewhat distant, a little more silent. Away.

"Yeah, right, 'cos it's completely normal how you won't even look at me now. You said we were friends, yeah? Friends help each other, Doctor. 's what I wanna do. I want to help you. I mean, there's obviously something-"

"There is _nothing_ ," he growled and she fell silent for a while, but soon, she picked up where she left off.

"I told you about things. About-about my parents and everythin'. I told you. Why can't you just... I don't know, maybe not take a step back every time we take a step forward? You ran from me once, yeah, but it's almost like you _always_ run, you know."

The Doctor heard the strain in her voice, well aware of the fact that his behavior was hurting her, but it was out of his control now. His muddled, tired mind, so used to sorrow and guilt, only saw two ways out of the situation.

One, to pull her even closer and not let go. Breathe in the smell of her shampoo, vanilla, honey and Rose and allow her presence to soothe his broken soul.

Two, to keep her at an arm's length and not suffer whenever she got bored of the whole thing. Humans were fickle, unstable, easily swayed. He couldn't take any risks, not even if his hearts were pulling at all the strings, almost physically drawing him closer to her.

He forced a dark chuckle out of his clenched throat, and he heard Rose's heart skip a beat at the sound. His internal defense mechanism forced him to say words he'd regret the moment they were spoken; words he didn't truly think, but still chose to use as a shield.

"Your _parents_! Ha! Rose, you're _young_. Oh, you're so young, with your whole life ahead of you, TV shows and dishwashers and libraries and flower bouquets, it's all there for you! And me? Who am I, Rose? I'm a-" he stopped himself before saying _an empty husk_.

Upon hearing her draw a sharp breath, he gave in to the unpleasant mixture of temptation and fear, involuntarily raising his eyes to meet hers, just in time to see her as angry as he'd ever seen her. Her cheeks were bright red, brows creased, fire in her eyes mirroring his feelings when he held her, only in a negative way. He gulped, eyes wide, and wondered if he hadn't taken his little act a bit too far.

"Fine! You wanna be like that? You want to treat me like I'm... I dunno... Stupid? At least I'm willing to talk about it! I don't jus' run away from things, Doctor. I don't-" she paused, seemingly losing control of her voice. "I don't just push _you_ away! Adventures and things, that's all brilliant, yeah, but you're so... Cold, sometimes. Cold as ice, 's what you are! It's like you're right here, yeah? But in reality, you're miles away. Miles upon miles away.

His breath hitched in his throat, anxiety eating away at him little by little. He'd hurt her. He said too much. That was the whole point, wasn't it? Self-defense at any cost. He was a pathetic excuse for a Time Lord, that's what he was, and his cowardice, his inability to confront his own past, ended up in this: this masquerade gone bad.

His body told him to try and embrace her again, fight his way past the electrifying tension, both good and bad, and merely hold her as their heartbeats settle, her breath just barely grazing his neck. His common sense told him that she'd likely slap him if he tried to do that now. He listened to the latter.

"I think I'm gonna turn in for the night," she muttered after a whole minute of silence. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes. Right."

He didn't turn around as she walked past him; he glued his eyes to the table, his mug still planted firmly on top of it. His tea must've gone cold by now.

"And Doctor?"

He looked over his shoulder, but avoided meeting her eyes.

"Don't patronize me. Look, I know that I'm no one, yeah? A shop girl with no A levels. But I care about..." she trailed off, a quiet sob interrupting her speech, and the next thing he heard were her angry footsteps leading up to her bedroom, then the sound of a door being slammed shut. He was left alone.

He didn't like it.

And then, there was a night filled with silence, up until a nightmare pulled his exhausted mind into its traitorous clutches.

It was about Rose. She burnt like the sun itself and he drowned in her light, breathing it in until it filled his lungs, trying to hold her but finding that it was all in vain; she was like shifting sands made of glimmering gold, slipping through his fingers faster than he could register. Piece by piece, moment by moment, they were both consumed by this strange fire that had no beginning and no end.

He woke up when there was nothing left of him and nothing left of her, just a bright light encompassing all that ever was and all that ever could be.

**~oOo~**

_You're so young_ , he said. He even laughed triumphantly at that! Rassilon, was he _completely_ daft? It's all fine and dandy that he couldn't allow himself to be too drawn to Rose Tyler, but hurting her was a _different_ thing. Another thing entirely. A _bad_ thing, at that.

He didn't deserve her, he truly did _not_ deserve her.

After the nightmare pulled him out of his fitful sleep, he laid in bed, pondering his options. He had to make it up to her somehow, and the way she spoke the previous night, he was quick to deduce that a marvelous trip would just not do this time around. However, whenever he tried to remember the last time he interacted with _anyone_ on a more personal level, he could only remember the War and all the things he lost in the fire of the greatest disaster the universe had ever known. He was never one to discuss his feelings, his woes, his concerns with anybody. How in Rassilon's name was he supposed to manage doing that now? Just _thinking_ of it felt like a stab to the hearts.

It was too much for him to handle. He knew right from the start - from the moment he first held her hand back at Vitex - that there'd be trouble. Always was! That's the life of the last of the Time Lords. Except when the trouble affected everybody _but_ him, he was a brilliant problem-solver. Now that it was him and somebody he cared about that was in distress - _emotional distress_ no less - he found himself at a complete loss.

He thought back to the two months he had spent with her. To the surge of... Weeell... He didn't exactly know _what_. It was an almost visible shimmer in the air around the pair of them, a strange crawling right underneath his skin whenever his fingers entwined with hers, only it wasn't exactly _unpleasant_. But in all honesty, he wouldn't have referred to it as enjoyable either. The Doctor had a deep passion for all things unknown, but with puzzles and mysteries and disasters, he always knew that at the end, he'd reach a satisfactory conclusion, his big Time Lord brain and all. But what if the epicenter of his musings was a human, a human whose touch seemed to send his mind into this...

This...

This state of... Weeeell, see, he didn't know _that_ either. It was as though each day spent with Rose Tyler greeted him with even more questions and far less answers than the day that came before it. The Doctor liked to keep himself from such situations, liked to keep to himself these days, yup.

Too late for that now, isn't it? Much too late. Now he'd gone and mucked things up with Rose, who, shrouded in mystery or not, happened to be his only friend in the whooole wide universe. Alright, perhaps not only _friend_ , but his only _close_ friend, the TARDIS excluded, although that too wasn't as much a friendship as it was a symbiosis of sorts, two lonely beings co-existing, one a Lord of Time, one his loyal time ship.

He thought back to all the human things he had contact with in the past: films, books, or just typical interaction, daily babbling about this and that and then some more of this. Shifting through his mind like a dictionary, he reached the section on _apologies_. There'd be... Flowers and boxes of chocolates and sobbing and more often than not, trying to push the blame on somebody else... Hm. His lips pursed in deep thought.

Convenient, but no. If he had any chocolates he'd likely eat them himself before handing them over to Rose, if he had any flowers he'd perhaps gift them to her, but somehow, that felt a little out of place. He couldn't quite imagine that. Sobbing? Blegh! Not happening. He had a reputation to uphold! Redirecting the blame? But to whom, the tooth fairy? No. She didn't deserve it, the poor woman. He was the one who acted like a daft schmuck, right? Eeeh, yup. Quite right.

After two hours worth of brainstorming, he reached the conclusion that the one thing he could do was to try _not_ to act like a complete moron the next time he'd speak to her. Yup. There's a start to a good plan!

She did not slip out of her bedroom until it was way past noon, and once she did enter the galley, her eyes expertly averted his gaze, ignoring his mute plea for her to look his way. She still hadn't changed; his eyes slowly glazed over her figure, admiring her disheveled appearance, her casual night-wear, but he quickly cast the thoughts aside. He had an apology to make.

Deep breath. Another one. His hearts somehow crawled all the way up to his throat. Oh, well. Minor casualty. Apologize, Doctor. Go on. He stood a few feet away from her, head tilted downwards, hands awkwardly fumbling with... Well, nothing at all. He was just plain nervous. Go on, Doctor. You can do it. Of course you _can_ do it! A thousand year old Time Lord, scared out of his wits like a teenage boy! For shame, Doctor. For shame. Go on, then. Apologize.

He'd never guess that she'd beat him to it, but she did. Out of nowhere he felt her eyes on him, in vain trying to see his face, and as he looked up, he found her staring right at him, her countenance tinted with a hint of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Doctor."

"What?" he mumbled eloquently. What was _she_ apologizing to him for?

"I-I'm sorry," she repeated, worrying her bottom lip and creasing her brows, her eyes slightly misty.

"What? But... Wait. Rose? _What_?" he choked out, walking towards her. When he approached her, she broke their locked gaze and looked down at her own hands as she nervously played with the hem of her oversized t-shirt. He had to stop himself from reaching out to place his fingers under her chin, caressing her lightly as he'd bring her head back up to look into those brown eyes of hers, dive into them in search for answers to all the questions he'd likely never ask.

That was a human gesture, what he'd just considered. It was unusual for him.

"Look. I-I shouldn't have bugged you about any of it, alright? If you don't wanna talk about it, I should just leave you be. I'm sorry. I won't ask again, okay?"

His brows shot up as he lightly shook his head. Humans! He'd never understand them, would he? Especially not Rose. It all seemed so easy on paper, but turned out to be so much harder, didn't it? All the different emotions and thoughts and things. How was one supposed to keep up with all that?

He cleared his throat, unaware of the fact that he was tugging on his ear again, and finally spoke up.

"No-No, wait," he muttered awkwardly, "No, Rose, it's not like that. Not like that at all! I'm sorry. I made it sound like you're, err, inadequate. Or like your problems are-"

She looked up at him, throwing him off-guard with her careful, guarded stare. Would he ever stop undermining her trust in him? He wanted to stop. Why'd he always have to go and mess things up?

A little voice told him that he was simply scared. But what's there to be scared of? A rather brilliant human being? A... A _friend_?

"Like your problems are _insignificant_. That's how I made it sound, didn't I?"

Her silence spoke volumes, as did the sparks in her eyes, a thin line between anger and sadness, barely concealed by a trained mask of indifference.

"But Rose, they're _not_. I... I've been through a lot. I've _seen_ a lot. Catastrophes and miracles, all kinds of impossibilities and could-never-be's. But never, not once, have I ran into any kind of trouble that wasn't _important_. What you feel, Rose, it's-it's _important_. Eeeerr... To... To me. So I'm-I'm _sorry_."

He hadn't exhaled the breath he had been holding for much too long now, but he found he still couldn't when her countenance finally brightened, little by little, one step at a time. The corners of her lips twitched up just a fraction, the little crinkle on her nose smoothed out, her dark eyes seemed a little less dim and more pleased. And when he finally allowed himself to draw another breath, she offered him a soft smile, showing him that although she didn't expect an apology, she wasn't unhappy to receive one.

Weeeell, that's done, then. But why wouldn't his heart rate slow down to a regular pace?

The silence between them lingered like a thick veil, and he was at a loss for things that could intercept it, make it less heavy and more casual, now that the apology was out of the way. But somehow the longer their gaze remained locked, the more he didn't want to break it. And that shiver - oh, that shiver down his spine - it was back, a tingling all over his body, pinching his skin, arching him towards her without him even trying. As if it was... It was... The best course of action.

But even then, although the fleeting thought did run through his mind, it was Rose who took two steps only to wrap her arms around his torso, embracing him tightly and burrowing her face in his shoulder, cheek pressed somewhere near the crook of his exposed neck. She always took him by surprise. Was that the reason why he could hardly breathe, afraid that inhaling her scent would only intensify this odd sensation that plagued him whenever she touched him? From the very first day. What was it? _Why_ was it? He didn't react that way to everyone. Nope. Not at all.

Confused or not, he was always grateful to hold her in his arms, so that he did. He mouthed a _thank you_ into her hair before kissing the top of her head, convincing himself that it wasn't intimate, that it was something perfectly adequate for a friendship that was short but very extensive. Why wouldn't it be?

"You're a tad rubbish at this whole _friendship_ thing, Doctor," she mumbled into his shoulder, her voice soft and teasing.

He chuckled heartily. She was spot on. "Weeell, a bit. I'm out of practice."

She was the one to pull away from him, but she did not go far, just a step back, arms now hanging idly at her sides as her intent gaze scanned him tentatively. He could feel the smile on his own face, and he appreciated the sight of hers: genuine and youthfully happy.

_And you can ask me anything you want_ , he wanted to add then on that happy high, but that wasn't true. She could ask, but he still likely wouldn't answer. There was no cure for his nightmares other than him sleeping no more than once a week. The least he could do was to avoid the trauma while he was wide awake. Facing the truth was always the braver option, and on that one front, the Doctor was as brave as a little bunny rabbit being chased down by a pack of hungry wolves.

His eyes flitted down to her pink, full lips very briefly when he noted that her tongue snuck past her teeth to moisten her lips. It threw him off-course, that, a rather evil gesture, it was! Distracting and _enticing_ -

No.

All of those musings took less than twenty seconds, so he didn't give her the time to consider the silence unsettling before he blurted out, "You _wonder_ about me."

What was _that_ supposed to mean? That wasn't what he meant to say! Rassilon, he really _was_ out of his wits. He was done for. Two months in, done for! Unable to resist those curious eyes of hers, no matter the cost! Blimey. Not good.

"Well, yeah, I mean-" she stuttered, "I do. I guess. You're just a bit of a mystery. I reckon that's how you want it though, eh? You think you're so impressive with your aura of alien mystery, Doctor."

"What! Rose, I _am_ so impressive!" he shouted in mock-indignation, silently admiring the dimples in her cheeks when she chuckled in response.

"Oh, I dunno about _that_."

"Weeell, I do, and that's good enough for the two of us, Rose Tyler! I am a perfectly impressive Time Lord, thank you very much."

He noted the way her eyes widened ever so slightly when he mentioned his race, and it brought him back to his earlier thought.

He thought of it constantly. Saying a line or two would not kill him.

Maybe.

His expression grew serious, harder somehow, rough around the edges within mere seconds. Rose appeared to be taken aback by the sudden change in their banter, but that did not stop him. Once he made a decision, he rarely ever changed it.

"That's what I am," he muttered, "A Time Lord. The very last of them. Remember what I told you? There are none other like me. I... They..." he trailed off, forcing back a powerless sob, another sign of his weakness. "All dead. There was a war. I'm alone in the universe and I-"

Rose reflexively brought one of her hands to her chest, covering it with the other in a moved gesture. It pained him to talk about this. To make it sound so final. When he was merely thinking of it, he could lie to himself, say it was all a bad dream, but speaking of it confirmed the reality of his loss, and she seemed to understand it, because he found nothing short of comfort when he bore his eyes into hers.

"And I rather not think of it, not a whole lot. Reckon that makes it easier."

She nodded as she worried her bottom lip, tears pooling in her eyes only at hearing of his pain. She was kind, compassionate, caring, and to share even a slight bit of his burden made him feel both heavy and light. A bleeding wound was forever carved onto his hearts, and that was nothing anybody could help.

But with Rose, he didn't quite feel like an empty husk. Not anymore. No, he wasn't empty at all. There was his past, and there was Rose, his present and hopefully his future, exchanging the dull palette of his life with vibrant colors.

Just as the notion to take hold of her hand passed through his mind, their rather intense moment was interrupted by a noise neither of them could ever expect.

_Knock, knock._

_KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK._

The knocking grew more and more insistent as he slowly realized that he did not, in fact, park them in the Vortex. They were still in London, at a street corner somewhere, as they had visited her parents just the previous day. In the light of last night's unhappy conversation, moving the TARDIS simply slipped his mind.

He frowned in confusion, as did she.

"Who could it be?"

"There's only one way to find out," he said, making his way towards the console room with Rose padding behind him.

He had to fight away the urge to take hold of her hand. _Again_.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Now then, stop it, or you might dent her!" he shouted as he reached the exit of the ship and flung the door open without any hesitation. Rose gasped behind him, seemingly much more wary than he was, considering she hissed _you don't even know who it is!_ before their visitor appeared in their line of sight.

The Doctor's mouth fell open upon recognizing the person who interrupted their conversation in such an abrupt way. Brown hair, blue eyes, rather tall and a little bit bulky, wearing a dark blue coat, with a gun hanging at his waist.

Rose stood on tiptoe, peeking past his shoulder to see who it was that was making such a ruckus at the front door of the ship. She couldn't have known their visitor, but the Doctor did.

_Unfortunately_ , he did.

The man eyed the Doctor cheerfully before turning his appreciative gaze towards Rose, at which point the gleam in his eye multiplied by around... Around _a lot_. Around _too much_.

"Hello, Doc. Did you miss me?" he said with a grin, but his next words were directed at Rose. "And hello there! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

Unfortunately, the Doctor's stormy, annoyed look did not frighten the blue-eyed human. On the contrary, there was a challenge in his smirk as he pushed past the Doctor and Rose and made his way inside the ship.

The man whirled around upon reaching the consoles, looking nothing short of smug as he surveyed the area.

"Nothing's changed, eh? Just your face. Gotta say, that's a bit of an improvement. Not that it was bad before! But you're still not..." he trailed off, looking at the Time Lord questioningly. The Doctor shook his head with an exasperated sigh.

"Excuse me, but who are you? Doctor? D'you know him?" Rose asked, standing beside the Doctor and observing the stranger with confusion.

He wanted to answer, but his old acquaintance beat him to it. The man leaped towards Rose, two big steps, and then took hold of her hand, much like the Doctor wanted to mere minutes before, only to plant a theatrical kiss on the back of her palm.

Anger stung the Doctor like a venomous snake, although he couldn't say why. Perhaps it was because he didn't particularly _like_ -

"Captain Jack Harkness at your service, miss. Pleased to meet ya. I've been all around the place, but I gotta say, I haven't seen anything quite as pretty as you."

The Doctor winced at the introduction. Tacky. That's what humans call _tacky_. And he had a couple more terms to describe Jack Harkness with: foolish, selfish, infuriating and-

But Rose didn't think that way, he noted with a frown, because her smile was rather brilliant when she said: "Oh, you're a daft one, aren't you? I'm Rose. Rose Tyler."

He was quite used to all manners of trouble, but none of it was quite as unsettling as the way Jack Harkness looked at his friend, his companion, _his_ Rose.

* * *

**A/N:** So there we go! This is AU, but I'm quite fond of Jack and I thought I'd bring him in here too. We'll also have some characters of my own later down the road. Thoughts? Do you want Jack to stick around for a while or not? Did you like the fluff? Too much, too little? Let me know, and thank you so much for your reviews, I adore you all to bits. ^_^


	9. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Jack Harkness appears out of nowhere and stirs things up.

_"Captain Jack Harkness at your service, miss. Pleased to meet ya. I've been all around the place, but I gotta say, I haven't seen anything quite as pretty as you."_

_The Doctor winced at the introduction. Tacky. That's what humans call tacky. And he had a couple more terms to describe Jack Harkness with: foolish, selfish, infuriating and-_

_But Rose didn't think that way, he noted with a frown, because her smile was rather brilliant when she said: "Oh, you're a daft one, aren't you? I'm Rose. Rose Tyler."_

_He was quite used to all manners of trouble, but none of it was quite as unsettling as the way Jack Harkness looked at his friend, his companion, his Rose._

**~oOo~**

You could cut the tension with a knife. No, really, you bloody well could. Rose could swear it.

The Doctor stood there, leaning against the railing, his body rigid and unmoving. He hadn't said a word in what Rose estimated was over ten minutes. Felt like forever, anyway. She even went to change out of her pyjamas and into a tank top and jeans, but she hadn't heard them say a word during her absence.

And his friend - Rose assumed Jack was a friend, 'cos why else would the Doctor even let him in? So, that friend of his, he was like a walking contrast from the silent Time Lord. Jack was all chatter and laughs and not-so-classy jokes, and he waltzed right into the TARDIS as if he owned the place. Surely they were friends. Right?

Well, neither man had said a word about it, with one chatting Rose up and the other quiet as a grave.

She sat in the jumpseat, her heart still not quite done with its erratic pounding caused by the hug she had shared with the Doctor just moments before, and she responded to Jack's attempts with a mix of amusement and reserve. If only the Doctor would say something, _anything_ , and not just stand there, eyes glued to the pair of them as they talked, that'd be pretty swell. Yeah.

After minutes of pointless chatter about this and that, Rose finally inquired, "How do you two know each other, then?"

She had to stifle laughter when she noticed how quickly Jack's smile had just vanished. Just like that, she'd blink and she would've missed it. She turned to look at the Doctor just in time to catch an exasperated sigh escape his otherwise pursed lips.

She was met with nothing but silence. Jack, who was rather easy on the eyes in a more conventionally handsome way than the Doctor, suddenly abandoned his flirtatious looks in favor of looking down at his own lap, and started fumbling with some strange watch-like device on his wrist.

"Well? What, is it a secret? Doctor?"

Hearing his own name forced him to react. He shot Jack a pointed, sharp look and then spoke, resignation filling his voice. He was as annoyed as she'd ever seen him, yes, _annoyed_ in a way she thought was strangely childish and, um... A little adorable? She'd say. Weird, really, to call a man of the likes of the Doctor _adorable_ , but he had his moments.

Then again, he also had his moments when he was just impossible and downright hurtful. Such as just last night. But he made it up to her, didn't he? Yeah, he did. Rose wasn't one to hold grudges, but the small strains he continuously bruised her trust in him with would likely linger for months to come. She found herself more wary, but in all honesty, she hasn't had a moment to think it through just yet, what with the strange guest and all.

"No," he finally spoke up. "No, it's not a secret. But why doesn't _Captain_ Jack tell you himself? Oh, and Jack? While you're at it, why don't you tell her about the ship you're _captain_ of?" He chuckled mirthlessly. "No, hold on. You don't even _have_ one! Oh, that's a shame, isn't it, Rose?"

"What are you on about?" she demanded, just about done with their odd behavior. Fine, they were both good looking blokes. Alright, that was a bit of an understatement. Fine, the Doctor was infuriatingly attractive and so on, but they were acting like two oversized babies, and even if that was the usual state of things for most men she'd ever known, as far as she was concerned, both the Doctor and Jack would lose their daft attitude _soon_ , if she had any say in it.

"Jack?" she tried, giving up on the Doctor for the time being.

The man sighed and lifted his chin to look at her, a crooked smile on his full lips.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story. How 'bout I tell you over a glass of something stronger? I saw a rather nice pub right outside here. Gotta say, I always loved a London pub. What do ya say? My treat. I'd never let a pretty lady pay her way through a date."

_Woah, woah, easy there tiger,_ she thought and winced at him ever-so-slightly. She'd barely known the guy. Reminded her a bit of all those pushy blokes she ran into on her nights out with friends, who thought that one drink was enough to demand, well, _everything_ really. Only this one was much, much more aesthetically pleasing, she had to give him that. She heard the Doctor let out a little _hmpf_ kind of sound somewhere in the background, but her eyes remained fixed on Jack.

"Ooh, coming on too strong, am I?" the man asked, taking note of her displeased expression. "Don't get me wrong, darlin'. I don't mean anything bad. I'm just sort of a-"

"Jack is not exactly _picky_ , Rose," the Doctor explained, a low growl at the back of his throat. She felt his eyes on her the whole time. It was oddly unsettling. But his words, however unintended, still stung. 's not like she had some sort of an _amazing_ self-esteem, not really.

"Oh, he's not _picky_ , is he? Y'know what, Jack, the pub sounds good right about now," she muttered and bolted out of her seat, feeling stupidly insulted. Come on, Rose. He didn't mean it like _that_ , 'course not. He was just daft, not very good with words, but while she'd spent an unhealthy amount of time pondering the way his hair was all delightfully sticky uppy and all sorts of other unreasonable things, he suggested that a man would have to be _not picky_ to ask Rose out. Well. We'll see about that, Doctor.

She rushed past him, grabbed her jacket and stormed out of the TARDIS without looking back to see if either of the two men would follow her. She heard Jack chuckle and say, "Gotta be more subtle with the ladies, Doctor. I told you way back when."

"Hold on-Wait, Rose!" the Doctor called behind her, but she kept on walking.

Soon, the two men caught up to her, each walking at her side, the Doctor wearing his usual trench coat, Jack merely a t-shirt, despite the fact that it was a rather chilly night, which she noted with a bit of surprise. Real world felt surreal when she was on the TARDIS, like it didn't really exist. Two months in, and she was more trained as to what wardrobe she'd need for a visit to some polar bear planet in the middle of nowhere, than she was prepared for early autumn in London.

"Rose," the Doctor mumbled pleadingly, "Rose, you'd better not."

"Why are you following then, Doctor? I'm sure you don't like pubs. Bit above it, aren't you?"

"What! I-I never said that."

"But you're more _picky_ than Jack here, yeah?" she said, unable to hold back the snarky comment. She didn't have to look him in the eye to feel the dawning comprehension wash across his face in waves.

"I didn't mean it like _that_. Come on, Rose, you know I didn't-"

"Whoa, have you two got some unresolved tension!" Jack exclaimed cheerfully, falling slightly behind as Rose kept on walking faster and the Doctor matched his pace with hers. "Did I interrupt anything?"

"Yes," the Doctor said.

"No," she protested at the same time.

"I think you managed to make her angry, Doc. Rose, you look rather-"

"Yeah, I was _trying_ to fix that, thanks," the Doctor interrupted him impatiently, quickening his own pace to keep up with her.

Spotting the pub just around the corner, she turned to Jack who nodded enthusiastically and held the door open for her, then went inside without even looking back at the Doctor. She heard the Time Lord groan in annoyance, but she wasn't done giving him a hard time over his poor choice of words just yet.

Fifteen minutes later, they were sat at their chosen table in a rather dark corner of the pub, Rose and the Doctor on one side, Jack sitting across from them. It was still early afternoon, so aside from a couple drunken men in their fifties who occupied the bar, the pub was otherwise empty.

They've all had their drinks, or well, the Doctor had a cup of cocoa that he stubbornly insisted to be made specially for him, and Rose really didn't blame the poor waitress when she, albeit reluctantly, gave in and made him one herself. The Doctor sure knew how to get what he wanted, even though Rose imagined he was mostly unaware of the effect he could have on people.

She sighed, took a sip of her drink and decided to go right back to interrogating Jack Harkness.

"So, are you gonna tell me how the pair of you met? You don't seem exactly _friendly_ ," she prompted with a smirk. "Or did you bring me here just 'cos you wanted a drink?"

"He didn't exactly _bring_ you here, Rose," the Doctor pitched in, both eyes glued to his cup of hot cocoa as he absentmindedly ran nervous fingers up and down the smooth surface of the dish.

"A bit of both. Never one to turn down a drink with a charming lady." Jack winked and she shook her head with a smile. "Well, Rose, I'm a Time Agent-"

"Or he _was_ before he got fired and banished-"

"I was just about to get there," Jack interjected good-naturedly, "So, fine. I _was_ a Time Agent."

"What's that, then? Is it like a Time Lord?" she questioned curiously.

"What! No, of course not! Rose, this man is just a-" the Doctor cried in indignation, once again to be interrupted by Jack.

"No, no, I'm human. Flesh and _bone_." he grinned suggestively; Rose ignored the allusion and listened on. "Time Agents are people who are employed for all sorts of missions. You could say I was the James Bond of the 51st century."

That sounded interesting enough, but the Doctor was not amused in the least. Rose could almost feel how tense he was, sitting there next to her, all grumpy and visibly fed up with the presence of Jack.

"Mind wanna add that you were also a _con_ , Jack," the Doctor mumbled in frustration.

"A con? What'd you do, then?"

Jack sighed, took a long sip of his beer and continued, "Well, I got around. That's how I ran into the Doctor. Needed some money pronto, you know how it is, and he sort of ruined my little scheme."

"His scheme was to blow up half the city to collect money from their insurance policies," the Doctor clarified, this time more angry than irritated.

Well, if that was the case, Rose could hardly blame the Doctor for not being all too fond of Jack Harkness. She found herself wondering what else he might have kept hidden behind that friendly, easy-going and flirtatious exterior of his.

"Doc, I told you, it's not like that. Look, I had deals with all these people, alright? They were tired of the area, bored, yadda yadda. We'd split the income. It was perfectly fine. And it wasn't _half_ the city. More like half the estate."

Rose's eyes flitted between the two men, both looking determined, one very cross, one very approachable. Her common sense told her that the truth must've laid somewhere right in the middle of their stories, and if not, it was probably tipping the scales in the Doctor's favor. She just couldn't imagine him making things up only to injure another person. As for Jack, she hardly knew him, but if he wasn't the homicidal monster the Doctor was making him out to be, she'd hardly mind getting to know him better. The alcohol started pleasantly buzzing in her veins, warming her up both physically and emotionally. She never drank this early during the day, actually, she rarely ever drank at all. A night out in the pub with her mates now and then, that was it.

It was somehow liberating. With her parents always around, she hadn't truly felt like an adult up until she started traveling with the Doctor.

"Anyway," Jack picked up after another sip, "the Doctor arrived and said there were creatures living beneath the homes and that the explosion would destroy them."

"To which you said, _I didn't know_. What sort of a Time Agent doesn't even research the case before going for it? Not that it was really a _case_ , was it? You were just making some money," the Doctor grumbled in response.

Rose took a sideways glance at her friend, noting the crinkle on his nose, the corners of his mouth tipping downwards into a scowl, and the way he kept making sounds of ridicule at every word Jack said. His annoyance was strangely endearing, not to mention the way he felt the need to correct every statement Jack made, that was just plain _adorable_ in Rose's eyes, but she'd never own up to that thought.

"So, we saved the day, all was fine. I mean, the place _did_ blow up, but it wasn't my fault. And we got them all out in time, so what's the big deal, Doc?"

She shook her head, thinking to herself that Jack reminded her of many of the blokes she knew back home. Not really honest or serious, but still fun enough to be around.

"So nobody got hurt?" she confirmed.

"Not a soul. What, do you think I'd hurt anyone? I'm always gentle. Except when I'm not, but then it's a mutual decision." Jack shot her another wink, coaxing a giggle out of her. She then looked at the Doctor who nodded reluctantly after a brief pause, agreeing with Jack's statement. Well, the first portion of it at least, she'd imagine.

"Well, that's not so bad," she said with a dose of surprise, eyes still on the grumpy Time Lord. "The way you're actin', I would've thought he at least stole your banana collection."

No, really. The Doctor had this completely ridiculous obsession with _bananas_ of all things. He had a whole room dedicated to them, and when he showed it to her a few weeks back, she tried and failed not to laugh. It was just an image filled with hilarity, really, that an _alien_ who spent the vast majority of his days trying to look very respectable also happened to have this little hobby that involved everything banana-themed.

The Doctor didn't lighten up at her little joke. "He may as well have," he muttered under his breath, looking up from his cup of cocoa and glaring at Jack.

Rose decided to shrug it off as the lingering silence became awkward, and the Time Agent helped her in trying to make the conversation flow. She had this distinct idea at the back of her head that they weren't quite telling her _everything_ , but knowing the Doctor much better than she knew Jack, she decided to ask him about it when they were alone.

* * *

It was three hours later when they left the pub, and Jack reaffirmed himself as the charming flirt, while the Doctor remained unusually quiet, and if he said anything except correcting the other man, it was only to Rose. As for Rose, she felt pleasantly tipsy and perfectly content with having not one, but two good looking blokes to surround herself with.

Ugh. _That was rather shallow, Rose_. But Jack was growing on her rapidly, and although she forgave the Doctor for his _not picky_ remark from earlier, she decided to let him stew in his own juices for the afternoon and continued conversing with her new acquaintance.

When they came back to the TARDIS, the Doctor let her in first and then stood in the doorframe, blocking Jack's way.

"So, you came here, you said hi, I s'pose you'll be off, then?" he asked, but it was really more of an order than a question. The way he said it, he may as well have told the Time Agent to get out.

"Well, actually, I was looking for you..."

"For what?"

Rose stood behind the Doctor, looking at both the men with an eager interest.

"You disabled my Vortex manipulator, Doctor. I'm sick of this century, this planet. They're prudes! I wanna have some _fun_. Don't mind giving me a lift, do ya? Say, 51st century Earth. That's way better than this."

Jack had a pleading look on his face that had Rose feeling sorry for the man. She found her life to be very dull before she met the Doctor, and she didn't even know there was anything else out there, so Rose could hardly blame the guy for wanting to get out, especially if he came from the future in the first place.

"No."

Well, that was fast. The Doctor slammed the door in Jack's face and attempted to storm off towards the consoles but she held him by the coat, pulling him backwards.

"Doctor, why not? 's not like it's gonna be difficult for your TARDIS, is it? Do him a favor. He's nice."

The Doctor froze momentarily, stood there silent for a moment and then whirled around to face her, sparks in his eyes making Rose lose her confidence in the matter.

With his eyes so dark, his expression so cross and intense, he was borderline scary. But on the other end of the spectrum, he was also...

Um. The way her heartbeat sounded, he was also rather _appealing_ in this darker version of himself. She shook her head, tired of these inappropriate thoughts. It was probably Jack's fault. That man was a real flirt, and the funny thing was, he'd flirted with Rose as much as he tried to flirt with the Doctor. It was hilarious.

But, yeah. The Doctor's eyes were dark and bottomless as he stared at her before blurting out, "He's _nice_? Rose, he's- he's not meant to be _alive!_ He should be dead, long dead and gone!" the Doctor shouted in anger and desperation, suddenly clutching her shoulders. She felt heat pooling up in her cheeks at the close contact; his face was mere inches away from hers, his grip on her tighter than was necessary, but not strong enough to hurt her.

She barely registered the words at first, finding his proximity much too distracting, but when she finally took note of what he was saying, her expression instantly changed into one of bafflement.

"What d'you mean, _he should be dead_?! Doctor, that's just- I mean, it's okay if you don't like him, but-"

"Don't _like_ him? As if that mattered! It's not like that!" he interjected. She could feel his breath on her skin as he exclaimed the words; that's how close they were. He took a moment to gather his bearings, and then continued in a calmer tone. "After his little scheme back on Orympia VI, I agreed to take him back to his home, to Boeshane Peninsula. I thought, what could possibly go wrong! Ha! Should've known better. Time Agents, they're cons by default, but Jack was something else. He should call himself Jack Connery! You know, like-"

"Yeah, I get it," she interrupted, "but what happened there, then? Why're you saying these things?"

"Right." He pursed his lips in thought. It was like he was feeling better by the minute when he wasn't around Jack; indignation now gone from his eyes, he was no longer the least bit scary. Although, still rather _appea-_... No, Rose. Hold that thought.

"Well?" she prompted after the silence had lingered for a tad too long.

"Right. So, he tells me a time and off we go! And the moment we land, I hear gunshots outside. Not too bothered, mind you, that stuff's typical on some planets, so I follow him outside to take a look, and what do I see?"

Silence. Was he really expecting her to guess?

"Well, what? The Easter Bunny?" she joked awkwardly to cover up her own reaction to him being that close. He still hadn't let go of her shoulders, and although his demeanor was much calmer, he remained much too close, invading her personal space.

Not that she really _minded_.

"What! No, of course not, Rose! They don't have the Easter Bunny on that planet. They do have Father Christmas, however! But," he said, changing the subject, "What I saw was Jack Harkness, being _shot_. And I mean, shot _dead_. And I mean really, really _dead_."

Her mouth fell open. His stories were usually rather difficult to follow, what with him changing the direction of the conversation every other second, but this one really took the cake.

"I don't get it...?"

He sighed in exasperation, clearly wishing that she'd be able to follow his train of thought.

"He was meant to die on that planet, Rose. Him and his friend. They did, actually, only he used his Vortex manipulator at the very last second. He challenged Time itself. And you should never do that," the Doctor explained, his voice no longer angry, hitting gravely serious notes. "Being affected by the Vortex kept him alive...created a...a _ripple_ in time. But if he were to come back to his planet, he would've been gone."

She nodded for him to continue.

"So he fooled me into bringing him there and entered his own timeline. The way it works is that there were two copies of him in the same time and place." An annoyed scowl crept back up on his face and Rose could hardly keep up with the frequency of his mood swings. "He _shot_ his own killers. Saved himself and his friend. 'course, the other, _real_ version of him was gone, but messing with timelines creates disasters. Barely patched it all up. Wasn't easy, I'm telling you! The Vortex is nothing to tamper with. It was an error in the system, if you will. The great big system that we all have to follow. Weeell, more or less. In my case, mostly _less_. But I _always_ know what I'm doing, so it's all fine and dandy! For the most part."

"Alright, I think I get it," she said with a moderate dose of certainty. "But why's it such a big deal? You fixed it, yeah? Isn't it good that he survived?"

"That's the problem." The Doctor frowned, letting go of her as he started pacing. She felt the loss keenly; too keenly to be willing to admit to it. "He makes my skin crawl. I-I'm a Time Lord. I _feel_ time. I see it- _constantly._ I see everything that is, that ever was, ever could be. And Jack's time ran out long ago. He is a fixed point in time, because he should no longer exist. I don't even-I'm not even sure if he _can_ die anymore."

She understood that in theory, but she could hardly imagine the real thing. She knew that the Doctor wasn't human, 'course she did, but the things he spoke of were difficult, no, _impossible_ to wrap your mind around. Seeing time? Immortal Jack? Yeah... She'd have to see that with her own eyes, adventures or not.

"So it's like... You can't even be around him?"

"I never give second chances. He could've destroyed his entire planet just to save his friend. Just one... One person. One life at the cost of millions. Thousands of dreams and broken hearts and curious questions. In the blink of an eye, gone."

His voice fell to a whisper at the last few words as he looked down to the ground, hands in his pockets. Rose realized that no matter what had happened between the Doctor and Jack, it was unpleasant to the Time Lord, and she found herself wishing to bring him some comfort.

_What a mad twenty-four hours it's been_ , she thought to herself as she approached him. With the Doctor, she hardly had a moment to stop and think, but when she did, she often thought of him, she realized as her hand brushed his cheek. She almost thought he'd flinch away from her touch, but he leaned into it, inaudibly asking her not to stop.

Shivers were rolling down her spine. She felt as though she was pushing an unspoken boundary, and he wasn't about to forbid her from doing it; on the contrary, he was challenging it right alongside her.

"Doctor," she whispered, suddenly understanding the heart of the matter. "I'm thinkin' that maybe you'd... You'd wish you could do that, too. I mean, like Jack. You said your-"

She didn't finish that sentence, because suddenly there was him holding her wrist firmly in place as she ran her fingers along his cheek.

"I do," he whispered under his breath, "but I can't. See, there's the difference between Jack and I. I _know_ that I _can't_."

Rose didn't know how to respond to that. She still hardly knew anything about his past, but she'd have to be blind, deaf and stupid not to be able to guess that the Doctor lost much too much to ever really recover from it.

Didn't stop her from wanting to help him, though. It was as if she could see scars all over his skin, even though it was perfectly clear and smooth; scars that showed in every word, every reaction, every time he shied away from her and their new friendship. She didn't have to know the exact reasons when the end result was clear as a day.

Their _moment_ had once again been cut short by no other than the reason of their whole conversation, Captain Jack. After a rather loud and insistent bang on the door, they both heard him shout outside the TARDIS.

"Are you two done being all lovey dovey, then? Come on, Doc, I've apologized for everything about a hundred times! Give a good man a lift! I'm _dying_ of boredom here!"

The Doctor scoffed and finally looked up to meet her eyes. His own were tired and questioning, she hoped that hers were what he needed at the time: reassuring.

"Come on, Doctor. It'll be fine. He really _does_ seem nice, y'know," she tried, but to her surprise the last remark only made his stare grow harder. His hand slipped from her wrist, so she in turn moved hers away from his face. A pang of sorrow came and went before she gave it any thought.

"Right. I'm sure he does."

With an audible sigh, the Doctor walked past her and opened up the door to a very happy Jack Harkness. She smiled at the two men, proud of her Doctor, but only her new acquaintance returned her gaze with confidence and pleasure, while the Doctor went back to the consoles without gracing either of the humans with a single look.

"Earth, 51st century, is that what you said?" he asked coldly.

"Hell yeah. That'd be pretty perfect. Really digging the new haircut, by the way. Much better than before. Used to be on the verge of baldness, eh? That's gone out of style in the early 4390s," Jack exclaimed with a grin, standing by Rose and smiling down at her.

She giggled at the notion. The Doctor? Bald? He had some of the best hair _anyone_ has ever had, so yeah, add that to the list of things that never happened.

Moments later, the Doctor sent the TARDIS flying, and the last thing she saw before she fell to the ground in a fit of laughter, was the Doctor scowling at Jack as he held on to her, pretending that he was scared of the time machine's erratic flight.

**~oOo~**

It was never as easy as that. Just drop somebody off and leave? Not happening. Especially since she and Jack had an easy time falling into conversation, and Rose secretly hoped that she might get the Doctor to warm up to him too. The blue-eyed man was really easy to be around, although his innuendos were really getting _ridiculous_ at times, but she was used to that sort of thing thanks to all the blokes she knew back home, so it was mostly alright.

51st century Earth had some disaster they all ended up having to solve, and Jack proved himself useful to the Doctor, as Rose noted with a hint of satisfaction. She really didn't think the man was all that bad, and if she could save the Doctor from at least a bit of grief, she'd be happy to do that. For that reason, at the end of the day, she suggested they all have dinner on the TARDIS before Jack leaves.

Earlier in the day, Jack ended up saving the whole situation and slightly redeeming himself in the eyes of the Doctor, but once they all sat down to eat, the banter was reduced to a back and forth exchange between Rose and Jack with no input from the Doctor. She tried to involve him in the conversation, but as he was all grumpy, she eventually chose to let him be.

She briefly wondered if she wasn't throwing herself into this new friendship with Jack just to distract herself from thinking of the Doctor, but that'd just be really daft, wouldn't it? Only... Only she _did_ think of him as he shot her sideways glances with a frown, and not even Jack Harkness was able to pull her away from noticing that.

When they were done with their meal, Jack lingered in the console room, and the Doctor was civil enough not to tell him to go away, even though Rose could guess that was his current wish. In truth, she too preferred to be alone with him, but she somehow felt sorry for Jack. Behind all his stupid jokes, she thought she could see a lonely man.

She wasn't at all surprised when Jack asked if he could stick around for a few trips.

"This life is what I wanna do. The rush, the adrenaline, saving people... Just a couple trips. Whaddya say, Doctor? C'mon. I've changed. Let me prove it to you."

Rose didn't say anything to that, her eyes flitting between the two men in the room, one uncertain and strangely humbled, the other entirely unconvinced. She didn't expect either of them to look back at her, but the Doctor did, a knowing glance from across the consoles that also carried a question. _What do you want me to do?_ , he seemed to be asking.

Rose nodded softly and saw his shoulders heave in a sigh for a split second. Many nights after that, she'd stay awake wondering if what she'd seen in his eyes at that time was a hint of sadness or a product of her own hyperactive imagination. It was probably the latter.

"Eeeh, alright. You can stay. But only for a couple of trips! Rose and I are on a tight schedule! And remember, next entirely idiotic thing you do and you're out," he said flatly, playing around with various buttons on the consoles.

Jack was happy, 'course he was, and as for Rose, she felt pride swell within her chest at the Time Lord's decision. Not because the Doctor overcame his (perhaps not so ill-founded) animosity towards Jack, but because he was able to challenge himself in a matter he was entirely opposed to. She _did_ realize how stupid it was for _her_ to be proud of someone who was so superior to her in every way, but as his friend, she felt she had the right to do so.

So, there they were. The Doctor, Rose and Jack, about to go on a few adventures together.

And that they did.

* * *

Two weeks later, Rose felt as though she'd known Jack her whole life. He had next to no secrets (in fact, she wished he'd have _more_ secrets, considering the kind of life he lived and shared with everyone that happened to be even remotely interested), he was always all jokes and smiles; he didn't get upset once even if the Doctor was giving him a hard time, which he often did. But even that had lessened over time, and Rose could tell that it was easier for the Time Lord to be in Jack's presence as their days and adventures went by. The Doctor may have been grumpy, but he was not unfair, and as Jack proved himself to be honorable, the Doctor became his usual babbling self about a week in. Well, for the most part.

They didn't mention Jack going home; it wasn't necessary, was it? Although Rose did miss their quiet evenings in the library, or the Doctor showing her how to put together a telescope, or just being with _only_ him, she also found herself feeling scared of that realization. Because why on earth would she wish to be alone with him? They were just good mates who both (alright, mostly the Doctor) had a strange tendency to muck things up. Rose was hardly eager to make everything even more complicated by contemplating how the Doctor always remained close to her, how he always insisted on sitting next to her instead of letting Jack do it, and how she secretly took pleasure in those little signs of possessiveness, as if he was trying to say that she was his friend more than she was Jack's.

In other words, with the addition of Jack, the growing friendship between her and the Doctor had a healthy shot of rivalry, as she now had not one but two friends aboard the TARDIS, and it showed. She'd often choose to hang out and listen to Jack's colorful stories about his adventures over bothering the Doctor as he tinkered, because except for the times when they were alone, he was often quiet and distant. Rose didn't really know why. She asked if the presence of Jack still bothered him, but he waved her off with a _Why would it bother me, Rose? Nothing ever bothers me. I'm entirely unbotherable. Hold on, is that even a word? It's not, is it? Weeell, it is now! Look at me, always inventing things! Brilliant Time Lord brain, I'm telling you!_ So, yeah, she didn't really know how to react to it.

Another fun thing about Jack was that he flirted - _constantly_. With her, with strangers on the street, with aliens and humans alike, no matter gender, race or anything. He should be the poster boy for equality organizations back on Earth, she thought, but then again, he came from a time when it was all much more relaxed than it was in her own times. Either way, she learned to ignore it, for the most part. Sometimes, she'd flirt back just for the hell of it, and she'd feel the Doctor staring at her from across the room with a quizzical expression she couldn't really tie to any specific emotion.

She even asked herself if she, y'know, _liked_ Jack. Because honestly, he was more her type than most blokes she'd ever known. Handsome, charming, funny, very attentive; the only problem was his entire lack of commitment to anything more long-term than eating a cheeseburger. That in itself was a very big flaw, but that didn't matter, 'cos the more she thought of it, the more she realized that she was just being stupid.

Why? 'cause it would be easy to like Jack. Maybe even have a fling, though that wasn't something she'd normally do. It would be easy and convenient, but it wouldn't really stop her from looking at the Doctor out of the corner of her eye, nor would it make her heart perfectly relaxed when, by some sort of an accident, she ended up falling on top of him during a particularly rough landing on some futuristic space station.

Rose was never one to go with _easy_. She'd challenge herself just as the Doctor did; he was able to put up with Jack, she'd be able not to think of the Time Lord much more than the boundaries of friendship allowed.

Only he didn't really make it all that easy. One night, when they were all in the media room, Jack said he'd hit the sack and left, giving her a friendly peck on the cheek combined with his trademark wink. Rose remained, unsurprised by the fact that the Doctor stayed behind too. He never left until she did.

The Doctor was standing by one of the enormous bookshelves, strangely pre-occupied with browsing titles she knew he must've already read a dozen times, that nerdy big brain of his never being satisfied and all. There was always some tension between the pair of them, the kind she'd likely never get to name, but since the appearance of Jack, you really _could_ cut the tension with a knife. And not just between the Time Agent and the Doctor. Between him and her too.

She grabbed a soft pillow that laid next to her and embraced it as she remained on the sofa, then took a deep breath and decided to just go for it.

"Doctor? What's wrong?"

"Hmm? What d'you mean? Nothing's wrong, Rose! Nothing at all, nope," he said casually without turning around to look her way.

"You're weird, though. I mean, since Jack joined us."

At that, she was met with nothing but silence as he started flipping pages in some large tome with his back still turned to her.

"Doctor?"

"Mm?"

"Tell me," she pleaded softly.

He finally put the book down and turned around, shooting her a pained look.

"I told you that I don't feel good around Jack," he said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah? But you two get along better now, don't you? You're starting to become good mates."

"Weeell, I wouldn't go as far as _that_ ," he disagreed, pulling a disgusted face. "But! You're right, it's easier now. And perhaps he's not _that_ bad."

"See? So what's this about, then?"

"I s'pose I just don't want to get in the way," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes jumped from one object to another, never landing on her.

She felt strangely moved by his confession and quickly scorned herself. She as good as called him a rubbish friend that one day two weeks back, but she was pretty rubbish at it herself, wasn't she? She made him feel cast aside just because she couldn't really sort through her own thoughts.

She tossed the pillow back on the sofa and stood, walking up to him. Her first instinct was to wrap her arms around him, but it was still nothing she'd feel comfortable with without a good reason, and they didn't really have a fight this time around, so she settled for speaking.

"Don't be daft, Doctor," she muttered, "Jack's our friend, yeah? And _you_ are my friend. Right?"

He nodded with a hint of enthusiasm, looking at her now, boring his eyes into hers in this fascinated way, as if she held the answer to every mystery in the universe.

"So there's nothing you'd be getting in the way of. In the end, you're the designated driver in this thing. You call all the shots."

He grinned at her blatant attempt at flattery which she hoped would cheer him up a tad. However, that soon fell into a more serious expression when the corners of his mouth tipped downwards as he looked down to meet her eyes.

"Thing is, I'm not really _friend_ material, Rose. I haven't-err, I haven't been around humans much. I've said that, right? So Jack may... _suit_ you better. But don't forget his past. He seems trustworthy enough now, but I just- I don't want you to-"

She decided to cut his self-conscious monologue short right there, letting out a soft chuckle. He was rather adorable as he towered above her, all nerves and uncertainty. He didn't have to spell it out for her, she could tell that he was something of a loner, but that didn't mean they couldn't be friends.

"Y'know, out of all the people I know, I think only you just sort of... Get me. I mean, you're like a million times better than me-"

"What! No, I'm not!" he interjected.

"-but you never say it, you know? Or well, you did say somethin' along the lines, but I know you didn't mean it. And I like that." She smiled at him as he stared at her in disbelief. "Anyway, Jack's a lot of fun, sure, but you and your banana collection win the gold medal there too. I told you. You're kinda stuck with me now."

To say that she was sufficiently rewarded for her bravery would be an understatement, because he smiled his first genuine smile in quite some time; the difference was unmistakable. His whole face lit up in this huge grin, and for a brief second, she thought she'd like to kiss him. Just, y'know. To try it.

Obviously, she didn't. Perhaps the whole _liking Jack_ thing really _was_ a better idea than this.

"I'm not better than you," he said after a moment of content silence, "I'm just different. Different species and all. Bound to be some differing differences. Different differing differences." He looked so pleased with himself that she couldn't help but giggle.

She spent half the night talking to the Doctor, every moment putting her more at ease, the tension flying out the window - well, the _unpleasant_ tension - as they caught up on their lost hours. She promised herself that she'd do better at distributing her attention evenly, and not leave the Doctor to sulk while she was talking to Jack.

When she finally dozed off in her bed many hours later, her last coherent thought was a mental sigh of defeat. Alright, so she tried. She liked Jack well enough, but you can only try to fake your own impressions for so long before you snap.

'cause she did like Jack, but she _liked_ the Doctor more, and there was no running away from that.

* * *

**A/N:** This one happened quicker than I expected _(and extremely long. SORRY...)_! Jack was a lot of fun to write and I admit I went a _bit_ AU with his back story, but it was enjoyable. How did you like it? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for your reviews, you're all brilliantly fantastic! ^_^


	10. Domestic Misunderstandings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack, Rose and the Doctor visit Rose's parents. The day ends on an... Unexpected note.

_She spent half the night talking to the Doctor, every moment putting her more at ease, the tension flying out the window - well, the unpleasant tension - as they caught up on their lost hours. She promised herself that she'd do better at distributing her attention evenly, and not leave the Doctor to sulk while she was talking to Jack._

_When she finally dozed off in her bed many hours later, her last coherent thought was a mental sigh of defeat. Alright, so she tried. She liked Jack well enough, but you can only try to fake your own impressions for so long before you snap._

_'cause she did like Jack, but she liked the Doctor more, and there was no running away from that._

**~oOo~**

The Doctor took a glance at his own reflection in one of the mirrors, eyes slowly moving upwards from his feet, all the way up to his carefully styled hair. Of course, for him _carefully styled_ meant all ruffled and sticky-uppy, but that was precisely the way he liked it, so everything was going according to the plan.

Absentmindedly, his fingers pulled on the knot at the base of his neck, loosening it just a tad and then tightening it anew to make sure it was just right. He spent an unreasonable amount of time picking out the right tie. What? So he did. If there was one thing a Time Lord had an abundance of, what could it be if not time itself?

Turning sideways towards the mirror, he looked over his shoulder to inspect the state of his coat. Brilliant. He loved that coat. Janis Joplin had some very magnificent taste in coats. Yup, she truly did.

"Doc? You in there? Rose's been asking after you!" Jack's voice invaded his ears, alerting him of the fact that even though he was a Lord of Time, Rose's appointments still had to be kept in a timely manner, and she never quite accepted the _Time machine, Rose! We can go anytime!_ excuse, even though it was perfectly valid.

With a nervous swallow in an attempt to moisten his parched throat, he allowed himself a final glance and marched off, running into Jack on his way to the console room.

"Whoa! Lookin' good, Doctor!" Jack grinned appreciatively. A tad _too_ appreciatively, as far as the Doctor was concerned.

"Yes, well," he responded awkwardly and then cleared his throat, finding himself feeling uncomfortable for whatever reason. Not very odd, that. He'd always felt uneasy around Jack Harkness, but for Rose's sake, he was trying to fight it. "Rose insisted that I should, err, _make an effort_."

"It's almost like you two are off on a date," Jack joked. Yes, the Doctor knew that it was a joke. No, that didn't stop him from looking down and averting the Time Agent's piercing, smugly all-knowing eyes. Where the Doctor knew science Jack knew social interaction, and it was slightly frustrating to fall behind _Captain Harkness_ on any subject whatsoever, even one that he wouldn't admit to having an interest in.

He did not feel the need to dignify his bold (and completely _mental_ ) assumption with a proper response, so he kept on walking, eyes peered for Rose. Jack said she'd been asking after him, so where's she?

Truth be told, he couldn't quite believe that she managed to talk him into this whole ordeal.

It was clever of her, 'course it was, because _she_ was clever, his Rose, and he'd expect no less from her, but he never thought that he'd actually go through with her delusional little plan. Since the last attempt, she dropped hints, she batted her eyelashes, she pleaded and even threw a fit; all the while the Doctor stood by helplessly as all his defenses crumbled under Rose's skillfully constructed scheme...

...and Jack refused to stop giving him a hard time about it.

He groaned internally at the man. Still made his skin crawl, yup, but weeell. He wasn't _all_ that bad. It was just that the Doctor didn't want the human to make himself all too comfortable on his ship. After all, it had already been two months since Jack Harkness knocked on the TARDIS door, and frankly, he would prefer to cut back to just one companion.

Why? Because he-

"Bit nervous, are we?" the Time Agent teased, trailing behind the Doctor like a lost puppy. He expected to find Rose in the console room, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Rose? You said she's been asking after me?" he demanded impatiently, whirring around to face the man, a stern look on his face.

He had his better days when he'd be friendly towards Jack. He had his average days when he'd simply ignore him. And then there were days such as this one, when the Doctor could hardly stand being civil to this man, who was a constant anomaly in Time. The Doctor's very instinct told him that Jack was not meant to exist, and although never violent, he found himself unable to control these uninvited thoughts.

"Come on, Doctor. You really think she's already good to go? Last I checked, she was taking a shower," Jack chided with a grin.

Now, after it was clear that Jack Harkness would be sticking around for an undetermined amount of time, the Doctor went out of his way to make it _very_ clear that Rose was off-limits to the ridiculously flirtatious human male. Not because he wished to keep her to himself or anything! No, that's utterly _ridiculous_. Although, that was the conclusion Jack seemed to have reached... But no, it was because this man was bound to hurt Rose in one way or another, so the Doctor made sure that he would keep his distance. However, he still pushed his limits on a daily basis. Checking on Rose while she was in the shower?! Anger welled up inside him, and although his last regeneration was more than familiar with the emotion, this time around he was calmer, not easy to bring to an edge, so this was unusual. Jack never failed to find a way to make the Doctor feel frustrated for all sorts of unknown reasons, though.

"You didn't-" he choked out, irritation instead of anxiety now clenching his throat.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Jack assured with a chuckle, "I just checked the TARDIS monitors."

Anger dissipated as fast as it appeared, leaving the Doctor back in his indifferent, if slightly nervous, state, up until a realization interrupted his newfound calm.

"Wait. Where'd this come from, then? If Rose isn't ready yet, then what's this about? Why'd you go asking for me?" he demanded, regarding Jack with caution, hands in his pockets, frame proudly held straight.

"Well, Doctor, it's been two months since you took me on, and Rose's a good friend. This is important to her, and you're not exactly the king of charming ladies, so I thought I'd give you a few tips before you two get going," Jack explained with a content look on his face.

The mere notion was baffling to the Doctor. For one, he did _not_ need tips from Jack, thank you very much. Two, Rose was _his_ friend, not Jack's. What in Rassilon's name was this man thinking?! Three, he really did _not_ need tips on _charming ladies_ , thank-you-very-much. What does that even mean? They were only going to visit Rose's parents! An experiment already twice failed, but as they say, third time is the charm. Not to mention that Rose was quite _adamant_ about him going there. Again. And it didn't matter that he didn't like domestics. She was stubborn, she was; she said: _Doctor, we're friends, and my parents deserve getting to know you a bit better. Can't you do this for me?_

And in the end, he ran out of arguments long before her patience was wearing thin.

Rose invited Jack to tag along too, but he still hadn't given his final response on whether he would come or not. The Doctor sincerely hoped that he would _not_. For all he cared, Jack could bury his head underneath a pile of sand for the whole duration of their visit. He was on edge enough to not have a whole lot of understanding left to deal with the infuriating man.

"I don't need anything, Jack. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to fetch Rose."

"Oh, sure, by all means," Jack said with a smirk. "But I'm sure Rose will not be pleased when her mom tells you to get lost again, Doctor. Ladies don't often give you second chances."

His shoulders slumped with a sigh. The man was right. It would not do to quarrel with Rose's parents - if he wanted to keep her, which he _did_ \- and he knew next to nothing about domestics, humans, family relations and the like, dinners, balls, parties and lunches. Eugh. The mere thought made him wince in boredom, but also scrunch his nose in confusion, and Jack picked up on it in an instant.

"So?"

"Well?" the Doctor prompted irately after Jack said no more.

The Time Agent grinned widely and sat down in the jump seat, both arms stretched across the back of the chair. He looked very smug and self-satisfied, but the Doctor's curiosity and insecurity were both piqued enough to let him ignore Jack's oversized ego.

"Alright, so, first of all: her parents are _people_. Normal people. She's not gonna want you to tell them about the Time Vortex and all that boring jazz. Tell 'em you take care of her and that she's safe. You know what, actually, let _her_ do most of the talking, Doctor. That'll be better."

"But I've got a lot I could-" he insisted.

"No," Jack snipped. "Look, her mom's not interested in where you've been or what you've been doing, alright? She wants to know that her daughter is in good hands. Think, Doc. You just walked in, pretended to work for Pete Tyler and then as good as kidnapped their daughter. That's not gonna slide easily, you know."

Jack was all patience and amusement, the Doctor: muddled thoughts and proud annoyance. He felt as though Jack was taking liberties by speaking to him in this manner, but then again, on good days, he would call the man a friend. And he... He really didn't want to muck things up with Rose again. It happened much too often as it is.

"I did _not_ kidnap her," the Doctor argued in a slightly offended tone. "I asked her to join me and she did. Mind you, we had to err, solve a-a- _problem_ first, but it was all fine! Brilliant, rather. How long has it been now, five months? Yup. So you see, I did _not_ kidnap Rose Tyler. That's ridiculous, Jack."

"I didn't mean that you _literally_ kidnapped her, Doctor, but it's all the same thing to her parents. And then you go and refuse to meet them, and once you do you get slapped. Been there, done that. Mothers don't always approve of these things. So, listen up." Jack got off the chair and stood in front of the Doctor, gesturing as he spoke. "Be _nice_. Like, real nice. Tell them you like the house, the dog, the flowers or her mother's haircut, whatever works. Her mom's gonna like it, and if her mom likes it, Rose'll like it. Trust me."

The Doctor frowned at the mere thought of admiring _Jackie Tyler's haircut_ , but did not say anything.

"You could even buy her flowers," Jack continued.

In his mind, the Doctor saw himself giving a bouquet of flowers to Rose, and he briefly pondered the idea, finding it to be decent at the very least.

"But how am I going to, err, gain her parents' _approval_ by buying _Rose_ flowers?" he asked helplessly. Perhaps Jack really did know these things a tad better. Humans, they always socialize and they have all these norms they all need to bend to. It was dull, if you asked him. Extraordinarily dull.

Jack sighed, brought a hand to his face for a moment and then said, "I meant _her mother_. Get the woman some flowers. That's all boyfriend code for us human guys, Doctor. And that's what Rose's mom is going to be used to."

"No. Hold on. _What_?"

"What?" Jack echoed.

"I'm not Rose's _boyfriend_ ," the Doctor protested with a little more fervor than was necessary, given the current circumstances. "Jack, you're being ridiculous. Although that's the usual state of things, so why am I even surprised?"

"Then why'd you as good as tell me to go to hell a few weeks back?" Jack asked, visibly puzzled.

"You're a flirt, Jack! I'm not human, but I can easily tell! And d'you know what _promiscuous people_ like you do? They break hearts, that's what! I've seen it on television, you'd make her err, _enamored_ with you, and then you'd just waltz off into the sunset! Don't think I haven't been keeping an eye on you, Jack Harkness. I'm the Doctor. I don't miss a _thing_. Not a tiny tiny little thing. Is that clear?" he spoke in his best Oncoming Storm voice, but much to his dismay, he only managed to cause the man to chuckle in response.

"Someone's getting a little worked up for not being a _boyfriend_."

"I look out for her. Promised myself that I would," he dismissed. He still didn't find himself worthy of her time, but the least he could do was to protect her from harm.

"Well, you know how it is." Jack grinned as he changed the subject. "I mean, come on, I'm a good looking guy. I like to share! But honestly, Rose is... Damn, girl's pretty amazing. If you're really not into her, I might just make a move."

The Doctor stared at him in mute shock, eyes wide open, eyebrows knit tight, jaw a tad slack. He was _not_ alright with this. He'd made it pretty clear, hadn't he? He told Jack to back off. Which part of _back off_ did he not understand? It was preposte-

"What are you two gossiping about, then?" Rose asked as she entered the console room, interrupting their conversation.

Jack winked at the Doctor before turning to Rose with a wide smile, arm immediately wrapped around her shoulders in that way that the Doctor hated being witness to, because secretly, he too wished to embrace her with that ease for no particular reason. The addition of Jack to their little two-person team stalled things between them in a way, and although he hugged her much more often now than he used to, those were still brief, chaste moments that seemed to be few and far apart.

"Just that you look rather stunning, Rose. Isn't that right, Doc?"

She smacked Jack's arm away and laughed, but the Doctor took note of the fact that it was he who managed to capture her attention; she observed him out of the corner of her eye, perhaps curious about his reaction. A hint of pride settled inside his hearts, because it was _him_ that her eyes lingered on, not Jack.

He nodded for lack of a better response. Was that...was that a shadow of disappointment he caught in her eye before she looked back at their human companion?

The man was right. She did look rather, errr, _brilliant_ , quite fetching in fact, although he was convinced that she did not need to make all that effort in order to look fantastic, because he liked her just as well in a simple t-shirt and jeans. But according to her, it was meant to be a fancy dinner with her parents, _Mum insisted, Doctor, said she's got to meet you properly and Theresa's gonna be makin' something good_ , Rose said, and her clothing reflected the occasion. She was wearing a pink strapless dress that reached past her knees, combined with a black leather jacket and a pair of heels. The Doctor felt quite embarrassed as he took note of all the little details, but the way his eyes lingered on her exposed collarbone when she wasn't looking, weeell... Perhaps it wasn't really _fashion_ he found an interest in, but-

"So, Jack? Are you coming with us?" she asked in a pleasant voice that the Doctor struggled to find any trace of hope in, and that too made him feel giddy and proud in a strangely childish sort of way.

Jack's eyes flitted towards the Doctor, meeting his hard gaze with an amused look of his own. He pondered the situation for a moment and then said, "Eh, why the hell not. I bet it's going to be fun."

The Doctor released the breath he had unconsciously been holding in one long exhale, features twisted in hopeless exasperation. This was going to be a disastrous evening.

**~oOo~**

He stood idly and watched as Rose was immediately pulled into a tight embrace; first by her mother, then by her father. Pete Tyler had the courtesy of smiling at the Doctor and even shaking his hand, but Rose's mum, Jackie, glared at him coldly over her daughter's shoulder. Jack, on the other hand, followed his own advice and scored some extra points early on by complimenting their garden, which apparently was Jackie's pride and joy, so she was much more civil towards him than she had been with the Doctor. It was clear to see that in the woman's eyes, the Time Lord was the one to blame for everything that had ever gone wrong in the history of the universe, and he didn't quite know how to change her mind about that.

"Dad, Jack, why don't you go inside?" Rose suggested out of nowhere after Jackie stopped fussing and moaning about her _not being dressed for the weather_ and _never calling, never! I don't know why you have that phone, you never even use it!_ and the like. "We'll catch up in a mo'."

The Doctor caught a knowing glance exchanged between the father and the daughter and gulped nervously. Right. So this was the _chance_ Rose was talking about earlier. He'd have to try and smooth things out before going in there, straight for round two of the Domestics Olympics. Eugh. He briefly wondered just _what_ had happened in the past months to make a very respectable Time Lord such as himself stoop so low, but a quick look at Rose delivered an answer to his silent question. Of course. Rose Tyler. What other explanation would he ever need?

Rose stood on the side, leaving Jackie free to eye him up and down with contempt just as much as she wished. Which, apparently, was quite a lot. But the more he looked back at the woman, the more he noted the softer tones in her eyes that previously weren't there.

"Mum? Remember what I told you on the phone?" Rose nudged her mother. Her voice was soft, but he knew her well enough to be able to tell that she was nervous.

"Oh, I do, but Rose, look at this man! He's dangerous, sweetheart! Space travel and things, I don't even believe it, but it's better that way, because when I think of all the things that could happen to you, I can't even sleep! It's true! Ask your good old dad. Tossin' and turning every night, that's me. I don't think I've had a good night's sleep since you'd gone, and it's been months!" Jackie exclaimed.

He struggled to keep up with her complaints, but he never wished to cause the woman any discomfort, so he chose to heed Jack's advice and try to be, err... Polite? Possibly.

"I know, Mum, but listen. I told you, remember? He's saved my life. That day when there was a fire at Vitex, earlier that day, 's all thanks to the Doctor that I'm here now, y'know? Really. He's daft alright, but he's good at getting me out of trouble," Rose explained.

He looked between the two women until he found Jackie staring at him. Rose wasn't much like her mother, not from what he'd noticed - not in personality and not so much in looks, aside from the two of them both being blonde, but he found Jackie to be easier to read than most people, perhaps due to the fact that he was really beginning to know her daughter so well.

"Is that true, then?" Jackie questioned.

He thought back to that day at Vitex. Rose saved his life then just as he saved hers, but ever since then... Ever since then-

"She saved me," he mumbled, looking down at the ground instead of the two Tyler women. "Rose saved me."

 _In more ways than I could ever imagine_ , he added in his mind, recalling the days he'd spent sleepless, almost cherishing the nightmares that haunted him at night, if only because in them he could see the faces of his people and all the years long gone. Days when he was truly alone, with no other soul to talk to, out of both choice and circumstance.

"Oh, she did say that you were a humble bloke, she did," Jackie muttered, her voice suddenly strained. "I won't lie to you, Doctor. I tried to talk some sense into Rose. Her home's here with us, not runnin' straight into danger God knows where! I tried. But she's not havin' any of it. She was always stubborn as a donkey, I'm tellin' ya!"

"Mum!" Rose interjected, but Jackie shook it off.

"Lord knows I'd rather have her here with us, but Pete's right. You've never looked this happy, sweetheart, not since you were a little girl," Jackie continued, her eyes now on her daughter, who seemed quite moved by her speech. "Tell me, Doctor, will you take care of her? Will you take care of my Rose?"

He swallowed down the lump that had formed inside his throat and said, his voice firm and certain, "If it's the last thing I ever do."

Jackie exhaled in what he could only identify as resignation and managed a smile which made her look a whole lot more approachable. "Go on then, you oddball. Give us a hug. You're part of the family now if you're gonna be keepin' my daughter."

The Doctor's instinct told him to shake his head and run, but even if he chose to follow it, he'd most likely still be pulled into this bone-crushing embrace which lasted much too long and ended with a sloppy kiss on his cheek. The next thing he saw as he cringed in utter disgust was Rose's pursed lips as she struggled not to laugh. Weeellll. That made the whole thing a _tiny_ bit better. Just a little tiny bitsy bit. Maybe.

"You better look after her, or you'll have me to answer to," Jackie warned and then urged them to follow her inside because dinner's ready and they're going to love it. She then proceeded to shower Rose with questions about Jack, and the Doctor barely cared to listen, but he did hear words such as _handsome, funny, charming_ and _fit_ , and unfortunately not all of them came from Jackie's lips.

Considering the evening had only just begun, he found himself with one battle won (Jackie Tyler _didn't_ hate him! And he didn't even have to compliment her haircut!) and two battles lost.

* * *

Right. So, he thought that the hug and the kiss and all were bad enough, and honestly, they _were_. But what came at the dinner table was approximately 9,783,429,127 times worse. Give or take a few. Yup.

Why? Where to even start? For one, _Jack_. The Doctor gritted his teeth through every amusing story told by the Time Agent and shot him angry glares across the table which went mostly unnoticed. Two, Jack got to sit next to Rose, while the Doctor was sitting next to Pete Tyler, who was a good man in his own right, but Jack was being infuriating and he just wanted to flip the table, take Rose by the hand and whisk her away somewhere far, far from Earth before Jack did something very stupid.

Why he even cared, he wasn't sure, but he felt angry at the man and that was that. A Time Lord doesn't have to explain himself all the time, does he? Of course not! He sets the rules, and Jack should be the one obeying them!

Also, as if all that wasn't bad enough, Jackie Tyler seemingly decided to catch up on all the times she refused to speak to him, and he was now being assaulted with all sorts of questions.

"So, Doctor, d'you really travel in that blue thing, then?" Jackie asked, turning all the eyes in the room towards him.

"Yes, yes we do!" He unconsciously used _we_ , referring to him and Rose, and only caught on to it after it was already spoken. "It's the TARDIS. Time And Relative-OW!"

He felt Jack kick him in the ankle under the table and shot the man a look filled with indignation. "What was that for?! Rassilon, Jack, you're uncivilized. _Completely_ savage. Like a monkey wearing clothes! Then again, that's not so different from the majority of your species, is it?" He scrunched his nose. "Think about it though, wouldn't that be funny? A gorilla in a suit! Ha! Or a-"

Another kick in the ankle had him on edge, but although Rose laughed at their exchange, Jackie remained unfazed and continued her interrogation.

"How's there enough space for you all in there? Tell me you don't spend the whole day groping my daughter!"

" _Mum!_ "

"What? Sweetheart, I'm tryin' to save your honor. I know it's all modern these days, but a woman's gotta know her value! Jus' because this man takes you traveling doesn't mean he's allowed to shag you!"

It took him a full thirty-seven seconds to understand what her mother was trying to say, and once he did, his mouth fell open as his mind went blank. Completely. Blank.

"Now Jacks, you're gonna scare the poor man off! Rose said he's not her bloke, let him be," Pete said with a chuckle, taking another piece of steak into his mouth.

The Doctor looked to Rose for help, silent plea in his eyes, but found her staring at the table with utter mortification on her face. Well, at least they were on the same page.

"Oh yeah, that's what she tells me too!" Jack perked up, stealing the attention of Rose's parents. "But I'm not so sure. What do ya think, Mrs. Tyler? I mean, I wouldn't blame you, Doc. Rose's a stunner, ain't that right?"

He caught a glimpse of Rose elbowing Jack in the ribs and then looked over to Jackie, who looked as keen as ever.

"She is, isn't she? My beautiful little girl," Jackie agreed with emotion. "Always had blokes chasin' after her, she did."

"Mum, please stop," Rose begged with a sigh.

"I'm just looking out for you, love. You know I'm not gettin' any younger. I wanna be a gran, and this paper thin man's not goin' to give you children, is he? I mean, how's it work? You say you're not human, d'you have all the-"

"No, I'm not human," he said hastily, politely skipping the other parts of her speech to save his own sanity.

The dinner reminded him of each and every reason why he despised domestics, and he felt awkward beyond any measure. If not for Rose, he would've gotten up and left after the first question, but he decided to survive through the whole ordeal and leave when she did - and never, ever come back. Nope. Not in a bazillion years! Jackie Tyler alone was difficult to deal with, but all the questions and Jack's eager participation had him with eyes glued to the table, tips of his ears beet-red as he cleared his throat and choked on his meal every other second. He didn't dare look Rose's way, and as he was sitting directly across from Jack, he could clearly see the man's amused grin as he watched the Doctor wriggle uncomfortably in his chair.

"Mum, I told you that we're not together, alright? Just friends. Jack too. We jus' travel around together, 's all."

"But you've been single for what, a year now! Don't you miss havin' a nice bloke on a cold night?"

"Jacks, leave 'em alone," Pete spoke up again, this time more firmly, but his wife paid him no mind.

"I can't believe this..." Rose sighed and then turned to Jack. "See what I meant? Mum's impossible."

"Oh, I think she's just proud of you. You're a charming woman, Mrs. Tyler," Jack complimented sweetly.

The Doctor sneered at him, confident that the woman wouldn't buy his blatant flattery, but of course, she did. She beamed at him, even.

Perhaps he really _did_ know what he was talking about earlier...

"Aren't you a darling? Now, Doctor, why're you so silent, then? Don't be shy, we don't bite."

It took him a minute to realize he was supposed to respond to her prompt, but once he did, he gathered his bearings and said weakly, "I, err, your..." He looked around helplessly, Jack's words echoing inside his head. "I like your... Ehm... Dog."

There was a brief moment of blissful quiet, but Jackie spoke up soon enough. "What d'you mean, our dog? We don't have a dog."

He shot Jack a glare, internally blaming him for his stupid idea of complimenting Jackie Tyler, and then stuttered out, "Yes, well, if you had one, I'm sure it would be brilliant! The best dog London has ever seen. And not just London, the entire universe!"

His collar felt much too tight and his ears were red with shame. It hadn't gone according to the plan, not this, not like that. But how are you supposed to just compliment people without truly speaking your mind? He thought well of Jackie Tyler if only for the fact that she was obviously a caring mother, but he couldn't flatter without meaning, couldn't find it in him to be insincere without reason. It was all Jack's fault, much like everything else that had gone wrong in the past two months.

His awkward comment caused lingering silence that was quickly becoming uncomfortable. He scanned his thoughts for things to say to break the quiet, but it was Rose who broke it, he noted as he heard his favorite sound in the whole, wide world; her giggle. It started as a barely audible, joyful thing and progressed into a steady, strong laughter, and soon the others followed too, until he was left perplexed and confused in a room full of laughing people.

Domestics. He _really_ didn't like domestics.

Not that he didn't like them being so happy, he did. Only he was sure they were laughing at his expense, and he felt a tad embarrassed. But seeing their smiling faces, he couldn't help but allow his own lips to stretch out in a wide, genuine grin, because really, what did it matter if they were laughing _at_ him? They were happy. Rose, her parents, even Jack.

He wasn't called the Doctor for nothing, was he? And what better thing could there be to cure than a lack of laughter?

**~oOo~**

The day was much longer than he had anticipated when agreeing to the visit, and they didn't get back to the TARDIS until it was late. He endured an entire series of questions from Rose's mother, some more acceptable inquiries from her father, a lot of snarky comments from Jack and seeing Rose enjoy the presence of people who were not him, including his other companion.

It wasn't easy. Rassilon, it was _torture_.

Buuut, it was done. He'd likely never do it again. Who cares if Rose looks rather disarming when she wants something from him? Time Lord! Time Lords don't succumb to lesser desires, such as wanting her to be happy with him and not just happy overall, or wanting her attention solely to himself instead of having to share it with others all the time. Those were stupid notions, considering just months ago he wasn't even sure if he should as much as let her travel with him; if finding a new friend was wise, safe, if it was a good idea. Well, in retrospective, it most likely _wasn't_ wise, but then again, he rarely did anything that could be labeled that way. More of a spur of the moment kind of person, yup. Act, then act some more, and only then stop to think. Time's wasting away! So, bottom line was, he had Rose, but not quite to himself, and an evening spent at her home made it more than clear. Rose was her own person, with her own family and even a few friends.

It didn't help that she was pretty much his only friend, and that his eyes were always on her. It didn't help that he lacked the knowledge of social norms and interactions, that he was so much of a loner in the past years, and even before he essentially became a hermit, he was never one to allow others to get close to him. Not in that sense.

With a sigh, he absentmindedly buzzed his sonic screwdriver all around the book he had been trying to read, scrambling the words and turning the entire page into a crosswords puzzle, but even that was unable to truly occupy his mind. He started thinking of equations and physics and banana plantations, but in a way, only his conscious thoughts revolved around these, normally thrilling, subjects. His subconscious was somewhere else.

Knock, knock.

"Jack, for the hundredth time, I do _not_ want to cuddle on the sofa! What has gotten into you?" he grumbled, not even bothering to get up. Jack was _very_ annoying today. Very. Exquisitely. Annoying. Yes.

"...Can I come in?"

He immediately stood at attention, then proceeded to straighten his tie in a nervous manner and scan the room in search for his jacket, deciding to just leave it in the end. It was Rose. Keeping her waiting would be very rude, and she was always moaning about him being rude to people, so he tried-

"Y-yes. Yup. Of course. Come in! A-anytime you want."

Why in Rassilon's name was he stuttering? Perhaps because he'd been called her _boyfriend_ numerous times during the course of the day. But since when did labels matter to him at all?

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers and stared at the door as she pushed it open and entered, now wearing her usual nightwear, which usually seemed to be a top combined with loose pajama pants.

She looked a little nervous, but then again, so was he, he just didn't know _why_. It was a little unsettling.

"Hello."

"Hey," she said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and shutting the door.

He would have _felt_ her eyes travel up his body even if he didn't see it for himself. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at her expectantly.

"Listen, I just wanted to say..." She cleared her throat and averted his gaze. "Thank you for goin' there with me. I mean, I really... Y'know, we've always been close, my mum, dad and I, yeah? And I really hated that they didn't like you. Well, my dad likes you well enough, but... You know."

He nodded with a small smile, expecting her to leave any second now that she said what she came there to say, but she didn't. She was looking down at her own feet, but what little he could see of her face, he noted that her cheeks were red. He could hear her heartbeat too, you know, superior hearing and all, and it was faster than it ought to be. Had she caught a cold? She really wasn't dressed for the weather earlier, she may have gotten ill, and we can't have Rose ill, no we can't, so he was just about to suggest going to the infirmary, but she continued speaking first.

"So, yeah. I owe you one. But I wanted to say... Um, well... I wanted to say that I dunno why mum's been saying all that mental stuff. You know, about you being my boyfriend and such. I mean, I told her that we're not... You know."

She finally looked up and he was able to look into her eyes, surprised by how flustered she seemed to be. He nodded again, unsure of how to respond. His first instinct was to bring her comfort, but she did not seem to be in distress, as much as just embarrassed.

"She's always wanted me to get married, have kids, the whole thing," Rose mumbled, biting down on her lip. "So I guess that the moment she sees me around a bloke, she can't help herself. But... 'm sorry, Doctor. I told her that it's impossible- that we'd _never_ -"

Hold on.

Rose kept talking, but he was barely listening, feeling as though he'd just had the wind knocked out of him.

_It's impossible._

_Mental stuff._

_We'd never._

_We're not... You know._

His hearts started racing for reasons not even he could comprehend, and when he tuned back into what Rose was saying, it was only made worse.

"I mean, it's obvious that it's crazy, right? What mum says, and Jack too. You and me, that's just... Bonkers, isn't it?"

The Doctor swallowed thickly, and when Rose ceased her nervous speech, he finally locked his eyes on hers. It was like his whole world was sent into a downwards spiral just by this; brown eyes and flushed cheeks, full lips and an uneasy expression, that was Rose, and he could hardly breathe.

His thoughts went back to the very first day; the way the air seemed to be charged when he was in her presence, filled with some sort of electricity, a spark unlike any he'd ever felt before. The way he felt when he took hold of her hand back then, a sensation that hadn't ceased but remained, even intensified over the months.

Sometimes he thought that she may have felt it too, considering the way she stared at their joined hands at times, just the way he did, but he... He didn't give it all much thought. It was odd, this magnetic pull that seemed to always linger between the pair of them, but it just _was_. The Doctor never considered finding the source, the remedy or... Or if he even wanted a remedy for it at all.

_You and me... Bonkers, right?_

Yes, bonkers. Completely. But when someone brightens your whole life, right from the very foundations of your existence, when that person also happens to be spending their entire time with you, and to top it all off, it feels like you are being physically _pulled_ towards that person whenever they are near, it's easy to forget that _bonkers_ is not supposed to be happening. A flash of images came and went in front of his eyes; like a slideshow of things you'd see on television, only with him and Rose. A strange pang of longing gripped him and refused to let go.

A mirthless chuckle slipped past his lips. Funny, that. He only realized that Rose Tyler wasn't quite a _friend_ the moment she made it perfectly clear to him that it was all she'd ever be.

That peculiar, charged, tense but easy feeling that washed over him whenever he held her, he was finally able to give it a name, but he wouldn't. Not now, when it was obvious she had other things on her mind. Jack maybe, somebody else, or maybe nobody at all, that didn't matter. Just not _him_.

"Doctor?"

He shook his head and refocused his gaze on her, finding her slightly worried. He only knew one way out of this situation, and no matter how he felt, he had to act immediately.

"Sorry, bit lost in thought there. Long day," he apologized, his voice borderline cold in its casual tone. "And of course, you're right. What do I always tell you, Rose? You're brilliant! Weeell, fairly brilliant. There's still me to compare to. But, yes, completely bonkers. Boyfriends and girlfriends? Me? Ha! I'd never. Nope. Not in a billion years."

He was a good liar despite how much he hated to lie, so his face remained a perfect mask of aloof amusement throughout the whole ordeal, whereas Rose seemed thrown off-guard, vulnerable and exposed somehow. Her breath quickened along with her the beat of her heart, he heard that, and her lower lip stuck out just a little bit, creating a small pout. He could almost swear she looked disappointed by his answer, but why would she ever be upset? He said exactly what she'd hoped to hear, didn't he?

"So... So you don't mind, then. I mean, my mum."

"Nope. Not in the least."

"Right. Yeah, that's... That's good."

"Very. Very good, yes, yes it is."

His eyes drifted down to the wooden floor, and he was glad for it, because the weight of this revelation was proving too heavy for him to carry with Rose around. He'd have a lot of thinking to do, strategizing, _struggling_ to understand. Perhaps it wasn't all that it seemed to be. Perhaps it was a passing thing.

Or not. Hard to say.

"I'm just-I'm just gonna go to bed, then. Jack said you agreed to taking us to the 72nd Century, yeah? That's gonna be fun. So I'll just..." she trailed off, walking out of his room and then added over her shoulder, "G'night, Doctor."

"Nighty night!" he exclaimed cheerfully without looking up from the floor to watch her leave.

The door closed with a click, and only then did he finally exhale, hands still in his pockets, eyes glued to the ground.

Right. Right, so this was... This was...

This was...

He shook his head with an insincere smirk. So that's what it all was. Not one to believe in destiny, but this thing pulling him closer to Rose from day one, he _could_ believe in that. Some sort of a connection.

A very one-sided connection, apparently.

He flopped down on his king size bed. It was almost amusing how he finally felt _something_ , for the first time ever, and it was all set to fail before he even realized that it had already started.

**~oOo~**

Rose didn't tear her eyes off the ground until she was back in her room, leaning against the door, looking up to the ceiling as she ran trembling fingers through her hair and let out a deep breath.

Well, so that's all clear then. Okay. Yeah, it's probably better that way. Stupid, infuriating, clueless Time Lord.

Perhaps she shouldn't have been so quick to give up on Jack.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm sorry for the delay and the little angst! I've been so busy and tired that my writing time was reduced by a lot. I hope to catch up when I can. The whole story is already planned out and I'm so excited to get to the more fluffy chapters soon. :D

Also, Jackie asking the Doctor awkward questions came from a prompt by _rabbitlover47_ on tumblr. Thank you! If you have any prompts for Doctor/Rose fics (or even this one, if it complies with the story!) or just want to chat, feel free to send me a message there too! **followthebadwolf . tumblr . com** ^_^


	11. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and the Doctor are left alone for an evening, and things become just a little more complicated.

_Rose didn't tear her eyes off the ground until she was back in her room, leaning against the door, looking up to the ceiling as she ran trembling fingers through her hair and let out a deep breath._

_Well, so that's all clear then. Okay. Yeah, it's probably better that way. Stupid, infuriating, clueless Time Lord._

_Perhaps she shouldn't have been so quick to give up on Jack._

* * *

Rose was almost past the fact that the Doctor didn't see her that way.

Almost.

Really, it wasn't all that bad. With Jack around, they were both kept quite busy; adventures and all sorts of shenanigans filled their days to the brim, and Rose found that she hardly had the time to sleep, let alone to stop and just _think_ for a moment. And it's not like it was a big deal or anything, 'sides, that didn't matter, did it? He's made himself quite clear. It was foolish of her to even wonder in the first place.

Only she... She couldn't really help it. The Doctor, ever the strange alien, had a habit of sending mixed signals, and even after months of a swiftly developing friendship, he was still as mysterious as ever, as far as Rose was concerned. Would she ever come to solve the puzzle that her best friend was?

She honestly doubted it.

There'd still be times when he'd shut himself off completely. He'd be there in person but not so much in spirit, hidden behind this-this _wall_ that she could never even hope to breach. Typically, this was his reaction to her becoming too inquisitive, asking about his past and all sorts of things that he seemed to consider private. Fair _enough_ , she thought. _We don't have to share things like that._

But she still _wanted_ to know. She was made aware of the fact that the Doctor really was all alone; that his people perished in some terrible war, him being the one and only survivor. Just the thought of that broke her heart - she was so sad for him, but also so grateful for the fact that he made it out alive. She'd come to see him as a necessary part of her life; no matter his role in it, she wanted him to stay. Throughout their arguments and tense moments, she still managed to appreciate him in full, to value what he had given her... Not just the time travel and things. He gave her the time of his day and made her feel like perhaps she wasn't quite as much of a failure as she used to think, getting up early to go to work every morning, resigned to a future she felt she had nothing in common with. He made her feel worthwhile, like the things she did mattered, had an impact on something. It was intoxicating, fresh and wonderful.

Rose sensed that the Doctor hadn't told her the whole story. That he was bottling things up. You just notice these things when you spend your whole time around one (well, two now, what with Jack onboard) person, you learn to distinguish the little frowns and prolonged silences, you figure out that there's something beneath it. The Doctor wasn't one to open up and have a heart to heart; honestly, neither was she, but she thought... She thought it'd help him. Well, it takes two to tango, and Rose, despite having spent over six months with the Doctor, still hadn't known much about what went on underneath that messy mop of hair on the top of his head, which didn't help when it came to the (also unresolved) question of her fancy for him. She refused to call it anything more than that, 'cos really, he was a fit bloke, a joy to be around - well, when he wasn't being infuriating - and _liking_ him really wasn't all that surprising. But anything more than that? No way. No chance.

She shook herself out of her silent reverie and tuned back in to the conversation between Jack and the Doctor. They were on a planet called New New Earth, the Doctor said it'd been made as a memorial to the real thing, but she couldn't see the resemblance. Everything was artificial, even the people that walked the streets, and it was like a sci-fi novel, something straight out of a dream.

"This place gives me the creeps," she grumbled, cautiously eyeing a person that seemed to be made entirely out of plastic.

"I think it's great," Jack said, "All that rubber and latex and-"

"Yes, well," the Doctor snipped and cleared his throat, "Rose, this planet was made fifty thousand years after the Earth got scorched. It's not even the first New Earth! You humans, you lot aren't exactly famous for your good memory, are you? They just didn't remember what it was like. This is what they see when they think of the cradle of humanity."

Her gaze flitted between the flying cars that covered the city in smoke, extravagant outfits that seemed horrendously uncomfortable, a street market dedicated entirely to providing five-minute plastic surgery... With a shake of her head, she realized that it wasn't all that far off. Just very exaggerated.

She looked around curiously, set on enjoying the trip even if the planet was a tad off-putting. It was a warm day, and Rose walked beside the Doctor, her hand just barely brushing his on occasion until he started rummaging through his pockets fruitlessly. She took the hint and moved away, but sent him a longing glance that he failed to catch. She chastised herself for it immediately.

"Don't you like it, Rose? We can go somewhere else. Tell you what, we should go to Woman Wept! Beautiful place, all frozen over! You'll never see icebergs like that, not anywhere else. Let's go!" the Doctor suggested with enthusiasm.

"No, 's fine, it's just... I dunno. This place is weird. I mean, it's like we've done something wrong along the way, y'know?"

"I'd say we've done something _right_ ," Jack disagreed with a grin. "Look at them!" He pointed to a couple that was taking rather large liberties in the very middle of the street.

Rose flushed scarlet at the scene before her eyes, not having the courage to turn towards the Doctor to inspect his reaction. They were young, the couple, somewhere in their twenties maybe; the woman had long, blonde hair that went past her waist, the man's hair was dark, and their clothes were... Well... _Missing in action_. They were going at it in the middle of the street, standing clad in their underwear, and the passersby paid them little to no mind, aside from the occasional hum of approval or even a high-five.

"That's just... Wow... I... I could never," she mumbled bashfully, looking away from them to give them some privacy, even though they didn't require it.

"I love it," Jack beamed, "People need to be free, Rose! We should all be like that. What d'you say, Doc?" He waggled his eyebrows at the Time Lord, coaxing a shy giggle out of Rose. She looked at the Doctor, only to find him looking down at his own feet with an unreadable expression.

"Doctor? You alright?" she asked softly.

He didn't get to respond, because another couple bumped straight into their group, too blinded by their lust to notice their surroundings. Rose froze, mere inches from a tangled mess of hands and tongues, and then flinched away from them after the initial shock.

"This place is _amazing_ ," Jack stated as though it was a well known fact. "New Earth, the first remake of our good ol' planet, they were nowhere near as fun. This is _awesome_." His eyes then turned towards the Doctor and Rose, who both still stood frozen to the spot, and Rose knew that they were both quite pre-occupied with _not_ looking at each other. Or at least, she was. Very much so. "What's wrong with you two? Oh, I see how it is. You wanna do the same, eh, Doc? Go on then, it's all good here."

Rose nearly let out a gasp at Jack's assumption and allowed herself to steal a glance at the Doctor. He seemed largely uncomfortable, but then, so was she.

It was hard not to imagine doing the same thing with him now though, after Jack's mentioned it. Her arms wrapped around his neck, his somewhere at her waist, eager fingers sneaking underneath the hem of her-

 _Thanks_ , Jack. The image planted itself firmly in her mind. She sighed helplessly and shook her head, determined not to give the scenario any extra thought. It wasn't going to happen, so what was the point in thinking of it?

"I think," the Doctor finally spoke up, "I think we should all go get a drink. What d'you say, Jack? Your favorite past-time! You should thank me for being so considerate. Yeah? Of course! Go on then, allons-y!" At that, the Time Lord grabbed Jack's arm and dragged the man across the street, leaving Rose on her own. She chuckled softly at his _allons-y_. He'd recently started using the word... overusing it, even. She didn't mind it much.

Actually, now that she thought of it, one of the only things she minded when it came to the Doctor was that she liked-

Hold that thought, Rose. Just _hold_ it.

With an exasperated sigh, she followed the two men inside some scummy parody of a pub. Might as well have that drink.

**~oOo~**

What Rose and the Doctor _didn't_ expect was that Jack would run into a man who would end up capturing his entire attention, leaving the pair of them on their own in that booth, images of their tangled bodies still vivid in Rose's mind.

She looked around the place. It wasn't very pretty or decorative by any stretch. In fact, it was a tad too dark and impersonal, with the tables and chairs made of polished steel, and the lights that illuminated the place being rather dim despite their neon bright colors. Much like the rest of the planet, Rose didn't like it, but she couldn't say she hated it either. She never hated any of their adventures.

The man who managed to grab Jack's undivided focus was called Ianto Jones, and if you'd ask Rose, he seemed like the least likely person Jack Harkness would find an interest in. The man was quiet, reserved, good-looking, sure, but nowhere near as forward as the rest of the patrons present at the futuristic pub. On top of that, he scarcely even wanted to talk to Jack. He was sat alone at the bar, sipping on some sort of a green drink, when Jack spotted him. That was thirty minutes ago. Now, Captain Harkness was sat beside the stranger, chatting him up relentlessly, which meant that she and the Doctor were left to fend for themselves.

Normally, she'd be pretty happy with that. They rarely got any time alone these days, and as much as she liked Jack, it was still the Doctor that she'd grown to describe as her best friend. It was nice to just sit there with him, sipping on her drink that was very sugary and very tasty, just enjoying his presence. On the other hand though, the idea of snogging him in the middle of the street was... Strangely difficult to shake. She hated her own mind sometimes.

"Jack seems pretty occupied," she finally commented, breaking the lingering silence.

The Doctor followed her gaze with a grin. "Yup." He stirred his drink, cradling the glass in hand, and stuck his tongue out thoughtfully. "If they get married one day, I'd have been their matchmaker! Like a cupid, Rose. You ought to appreciate that. You're always going on and on about romance. That'd be romantic, eh?"

"Right, 'cos it's so like Jack to settle down with just one!" She laughed earnestly and then added, "Don't get your hopes up, Doctor. There's not an ounce of romance in you."

The Doctor seemed rather put out by this.

"Ooh, you'd be surprised," he mused, "You underestimate me, Rose Tyler! I happen to be brilliant at all sorts of things, so why should this be any different?"

She smiled to herself at his mildly offended amusement. She'd missed their banter. There'd been way too much tension laying around between them, and never getting to sit down and talk hardly helped. Not that she'd know what there was to resolve... It was just _there_ , a nagging feeling in the back of her head, that only ever calmed down when she was on her own with just the Doctor for company.

"Let me think, maybe 'cos you're an alien and you've got no clue about how us lowly humans work, d'you?"

His theatrical indignation increased and she tried hard to match it with an equally grave expression, but she couldn't help the chuckle that slipped past her lips. He smiled back at her, all trace of frustration long gone from his countenance.

"I know you lot better than you think," he said wistfully. "I used to be around your kind a lot. It's just the last... The last years that I've sort of, err, been on my own. The life of a hermit. Very appealing, believe me! No trouble, no-weeeell, _plenty_ of trouble, just not related to having friends."

"Oh, so that's how it is, is it? We're just trouble to you! If _I'm_ troublesome, what sort of people did you travel with before, Doctor?"

She assumed he must've traveled with more than just her, being like a thousand years old and so on. Suddenly she wondered if there was anybody he... He'd actually allowed _closer_. Past all those defenses of his.

His smile remained, but not without a sad look in his eyes to accompany it.

"Weeell, for starters, I haven't traveled with anybody since my eighth regeneration! That's a long time, Rose."

"Hold on, you've mentioned that word before. What's a _regeneration_?"

The Doctor managed a little _oh_ kind of sound, as though he didn't really mean to say it, but before Rose had gotten her answer, Jack stumbled towards their booth, a little tipsy and with Ianto in tow.

"Guys, look, this is Ianto," Jack slurred, arm wrapped around the grim man's shoulder.

"We've already been introduced," Ianto clarified in a serious tone.

"Yeah. Hey," Rose said with a friendly smile. Although Jack's new fixation did not smile back, she saw a hint of kindness in his eyes, and she warmed up to him right away.

"Ianto said he's gonna show me around." Jack winked suggestively to be sure that not one of his friends would miss the real meaning behind it, but then he added needlessly, "As in, we're gonna go for a _shag_. See, Rose? I'm picking up on the lingo! So yeah, I'll see you both in the morning. Don't get _too_ drunk."

"You're one to talk!" Rose called after him, giggling at the slight blush that crept up on Ianto's cheeks at Jack's much-too-straightforward behavior. She was used to it by now, so she wasn't about to get fazed by it.

"So we're alone for the night," she muttered, eyes back on the Doctor.

"Yup," he agreed with a grin. "Can't say I mind. Jack can get a little... _Tiresome_."

"Are you still... You know. Does he still give you the-the _heebie jeebies_?"

"The _heebie jeebies_? What kind of films have you been watching lately?" He laughed. She enjoyed seeing him so comfortable, although she couldn't help but wonder if the alcohol they'd already consumed played any part in it.

"Good ones! Picking up on the lingo," she smirked. "So?"

The Doctor sighed and took a sip of his drink before answering.

"Yup. That's not going to change, Rose."

"Then how come you..." she trailed off, looking at him pointedly. He finally met her gaze and the corners of his lips curled up in a resigned, tired smile.

"Weeell, for starters, he's not _that_ bad. But he's not a captain, mind you! He's just talking the talk and dressing the part, that's what he's doing. Jack's a bit of a con, I don't care what he says." He cleared his throat. "But it's mostly because you like him. Doing you a favor there. You want him to stay, don't you?"

Rose looked at him intently, trying to discern if there's any hidden meaning behind his words. Truth was, she was happy to have Jack around, but it sounded like the Doctor paid it more mind than he ought to.

"Well, 'course I like him. Even _you_ like him, no matter if he gives you the creeps, yeah?"

He scoffed. "He's not too bad," he admitted reluctantly. She eyed him suspiciously. He scrunched his nose and sighed, then said, "Alright, alright. He's a friend. On a good day. _Sometimes_."

"See? So _that's_ why you keep him around. Not 'cos of me, is it?"

"Bit of both," he mused, taking another sip of his drink. He'd already had a lot and she was surprised that he wasn't quite plastered yet. In fact, he seemed perfectly coherent, if a little subdued. "Good stuff, these things. There's one thing New New Earth got right. Their fizzy little drinks!" He pointed at his now empty glass and then waved at the robotic waitress to order one more.

"How d'you mean, bit of both?" she asked, emptying her glass to match his pace. She was already beginning to feel the pleasant buzz of alcohol in her veins, and she knew that if she didn't want to get completely smashed, she'd better stop now.

She shrugged and ordered one more too, the same thing he was drinking.

After all, they're staying the night and they're _home alone_. She giggled briefly, imagining the Doctor home alone on Christmas, fighting off two thugs who were trying to rob his TARDIS. Oh, and he'd also be tiny. Like in the film. Tiny Doctor! She'd like to see that.

"What's so funny, eh? Someone's getting a bit tipsy," he commented. "As for Jack... Weeell, thought you sorta fancied the man, isn't that right? Bit easy to spot. The pair of you's always goofing off together, figured you have a... A... A _thing_. Yup. A thing. See, I'm picking up on the lingo too! Always been quick to pick up on things. Quick as lightning! Although, lightning's not even _that_ quick, you know. Bit of an outdated expression. It's not _too_ fast. Not if you compare to some other... Stuff. Such as time travel, because..."

She stopped listening to his science-y talk and focused on his previous words. Her heart was thrumming inside her chest, and she couldn't even say why. Perhaps it was the way he looked at her, less reserved than usual, more open and honest and strangely fixated, like she was the only person he had eyes on in this crowded pub. Perhaps it was that they were both leaning over the cold table, putting their faces closer than they had to be, so close that if she'd lean a little closer she could brush his lips with hers. Or maybe it was that he assumed she had a crush on Jack.

She was more surprised that he picked up on it than that he even made the assumption in the first place. After all, she had these thoughts too, but honestly, they were gone before they even formed inside her mind. It was the Doctor that always crept back into her thoughts, and try as she may, she couldn't really help it. All she could do was to hide it, and that she did.

"Thought you were done playing matchmaker, Doctor? Jack's off with Ianto, in case you didn't notice," she joked, looking down to hide her flushed cheeks.

"And d'you mind?"

The question was entirely unexpected. He really must've thought she had some sort of a serious fancy for Jack.

She scoffed. "'course not. What are you, daft? It's good for him. Think he likes the bloke, yeah?"

A shiver went down her spine because suddenly, his fingers were on her chin, trying to coax her into looking back into his eyes. Her blush deepened and she found herself wishing to down the rest of her drink, if only to remove some of these inhibitions, but that could be disastrous.

She obliged to his insistence and looked back up. His eyes were dark as they peered into hers, dark and searching, and his voice was low when he spoke again, stirring something in her, something that reminded her of the beginning of a summer storm, something sudden and reckless.

"Honestly? Be honest, Rose. Tell me. I told him that-I _said_ that he's not allowed-that I won't let him..." He trailed off for a moment. "I won't let him hurt you, Rose. He's done a fat lot of good, hasn't he? Waltzing off with some bloke in a pub when you-"

"Doctor, no, hold it right there," she said, suddenly jolted into being alert. "Look, I really don't fancy him, okay? Honest. Not like that. Not any more than you do. Unless you've been fooling around behind my back?" she joked, but the jest was lost on him. He remained quite serious and... And _very_ close to her.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Swear on the chips," he demanded. It was their little thing. When it was serious, she'd swear on chips, and he'd swear on the TARDIS.

"Swear on all the chips in the universe, 'specially those really crispy ones from that one orange planet, what was it called again? You know which one. They were _heavenly_ , Doctor."

He relaxed visibly and grinned, although his gaze remained dark and insistent, while his fingers were still firmly planted on her chin, two stray digits brushing her cheek ever so slightly.

Suddenly she just wanted to lean in and kiss the daft alien, but she'd never, 'course not. She knew he didn't want any of that. He'd made it quite clear not too long ago. _"Boyfriends? Girlfriends? Me? Ha! Not in a billion years!"_. Yeah, exactly, that's precisely her point.

"Very well, then," he said with a satisfied smile, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear before pulling away entirely, sitting back, one arm stretched across the back of his seat. She tried and failed to fight away the pang of disappointment. "And the planet's called Lillillillerllielle. Go on, repeat after me, Li-"

"I'll pass," she mumbled, "Ask me again when I haven't had anything to drink."

"Oh now, don't tell me you surrender, Rose Tyler!" Her heart skipped a beat at the way he said her name; always did, she doubted that'd ever change. "I'm a tad disappointed, to tell you the truth. Didn't think you were one to turn down a challenge _that_ easily."

A mischievous glint worked its way into her eyes as she shot him a look filled with mirth. She felt as though they were the only two people within a five hundred mile radius, and really, they may as well have been, 'cos she hardly took note of anybody else than him anyway.

This was no good. No good at all. She should've known better.

But she had too much alcohol to know any better, so she gulped what was left of her drink and leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyes glued to the Doctor.

"What do I get if I win, then?"

The Doctor made a little _huh_ kind of noise in response.

"I mean, if I manage to say it, what do I get?" she clarified. "It's a rubbish challenge if there's no prize, y'know."

Understanding dawned on his face, bringing a smirk upon his lips. Rose found that she hated the way he managed to render her breathless with nothing more than a quick look, despite the fact that she _tried_ not to let it happen. She really tried. Honest, she did. It just didn't work quite as well as she'd hoped.

"Weeell, considering your err, _current state_ saying it properly is quite the challenge," he mused. "Tell you what, tell me what you want and I'll think about it, how's that?"

 _You... Sort of_ , she wanted to say, but of course, she didn't. The situation was tense enough as it is.

"Can't just pick one thing," she mumbled, suddenly feeling bashful.

"Really? That's-that's _odd_ , because you humans, you lot always have these big dreams, and you know, I happen to be capable of making _most_ of them reality. Time machine and all, add my quite brilliant brain into the mix and we've got a dream come true! Go on then, Rose, anything you want?"

Now he too was leaning over the table, propped up on his elbows, and she felt very, very aware of the mere inches that separated not only their faces but also their bodies. Tension... Tension was a regular thing between the two of them, but this was-this was reaching a new high, or a new low, if you will. After all, she shouldn't be flirting with him. It's not like he'd even pick up on it. And if he did, he'd run far, far away, that's what he'd do. _Don't be stupid, Rose._

"Well, there's this one thing..." she said against her own senses, eyes flicking down to his lips briefly.

He nodded in eager interest, but before she could do something she'd really, really regret when she'd get sober, one of the actual waitresses - as in, _human_ waitresses - showed up at their table with a cranky expression.

"We're closin', you lovebirds," the woman said in a hoarse voice and collected their glasses. "Get lost 'fore I call Jimmy, will ya?"

Rose and the Doctor sprang apart as if they were hit by lightning, and the moment was broken, leaving them both flushed and reluctant to look the other in the eye.

Rose never did get to complete that challenge. They'd both forgotten it by the time they stumbled their way through the empty streets in search of the TARDIS...

Or at least that's what she told herself. Otherwise she might have taken him up on that _dream come true_ thing, and that... That would've been... Pretty bad, she realized, because her dreams were pretty one-sided as of late, and they contained a whole lot of _him_.

**~oOo~**

"I'm knackered," she exclaimed as she kicked off her shoes and flumped down into the sofa in the library room. She felt pleasantly tipsy (alright, perhaps a _little_ bit past that point) and the soft cushions beneath her were so welcoming, she thought she just might doze off right there and then. But then the Doctor sat down beside her, effectively blocking the space she'd been planning to use for a little nap. Not that she truly minded.

"Already tired, eh? If not for me, you'd be sleeping your whole life away! You should be glad that you met me, Rose. If not for me, you'd almost be in a coma," he commented, although his eyes were rather glazed too as he watched her stretch.

"Oi! We'd been walking around that tin can of a city for the entire day. A girl's gotta rest, Doctor."

When she stretched her arms before sinking back into the sofa, she felt how coiled her muscles were, all tense and somewhat sore. All she wanted was a hot bath and a good night's sleep, but she was reluctant to leave the Doctor now that he sat so close to her, close enough for both their arms and legs to touch. She shifted slightly in an attempt to find a little more comfort without actually moving away from him, but she still felt both tired and tense. It'd been a long day, and the past few hours spent with only her Time Lord friend for company sent her on a real rollercoaster ride through her own wishes and desires.

"Something wrong?" he asked with concern, probably noticing how she couldn't seem to find the right way to sit.

"Jus' a bit tense, 's all. Could use a good massage," she joked and laid back in the sofa, closing her eyes for just a moment.

It was the movement that made her eyes flit open momentarily, because the Doctor raised himself off the couch and chose to stand behind it, right behind Rose, in fact. She turned around slightly to be able to get a good look at him and found him pulling up the sleeves of his dress shirt and grinning widely.

"You didn't even _attempt_ the challenge," he reminded, "but I might as well do you a favor. You said you wanted a good massage? Weeeell, there it is! I learned from the best, Rose. Actually, no, I didn't. I haven't learned at all. But I've seen it in films, it can't be too hard, can it? Go on then, relax a little. Stop looking at me like that, I'm not going to twist your neck, am I?"

Rose's mouth fell open in surprise, but she obeyed when she noticed that the Doctor was rather set on doing this, for reasons unknown to her. His eyes were dark, hooded, strangely possessive; a gaze that took her breath away despite his easy smile. Turning her head back to look at the fireplace, she soon felt gentle, long fingers pull her hair up in a loose ponytail and then brush past her neck down onto her shoulders, one hand on each arm, before softly pressing down on her coiled muscles. The Doctor started kneading her flesh rather expertly, so well that she'd hardly believe he hadn't learned it anywhere, working his way from the base of her neck down her arms, dipping onto her back. The movements were slow, almost lazy, perfectly in tune with how she felt just moments ago, before he decided to go and touch her out of nowhere.

Now, she felt as though she was on fire.

Every time his fingers brushed her bare skin she felt a jolt of electricity run through her veins, something she'd almost been used to by now, but this new way of touching reminded her that she'd likely never get completely used to the feeling. When he worked her shoulders through her shirt, she found herself wishing he'd dip those fingers underneath it instead, because that just felt... _Right_ , somehow. She couldn't quite explain it.

Regardless of it all, she thought there'd be no way for her to relax like this, but the Doctor really knew what he was doing. Softly, inch by inch, he smoothed out all the tension in her body and she melded into his touch, focusing only on not letting on how much she truly enjoyed it.

His thumbs brushed her shoulder blades and she really wanted - no, almost _needed_ \- him to get rid of that shirt of hers and just... Just...

But instead he kept going, silent and invisible to her, until she felt so exhausted and exhilarated that she hardly knew where she was anymore. Her mind drifted somewhere far, far away. She subconsciously wanted him to stop, she wanted him to sit next to her on the sofa and allow her to rest her head on his lap and sleep. But he didn't, no, 'course not, and she would never pinpoint the moment when she fell asleep; she only knew that in her dreams, it was his lips on her neck instead of his hands, and it was...

It all felt so real, she only hoped he'd never hear of it.

When she woke up, she was still on the sofa, with a warm blanket draped over her body. For whatever reason, she half-expected to find the Doctor nearby; a continuation of her dream perhaps, but he was nowhere to be found. She sat up and brushed the sleep away from her eyes, fighting the urge to call his name.

The previous night was a bit of a blur. She couldn't remember all the little details, only that she and the Doctor had a night out, Jack was off somewhere with a new bloke, and there was a whole lot of staring and a little too much alcohol. Then she remembered what happened on the sofa. A blush crept up on her cheeks, the memory waking her up much better than any amount of coffee ever could. A massage doesn't mean anything, Rose. It doesn't. Friends do that sort of thing, for one, and two, the Doctor couldn't have been clearer about his intentions when she brought it up a couple of weeks back.

A slight headache thrummed against her forehead, threatening to break out into a migraine if she didn't feed herself some caffeine. Reluctantly, she stood and wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, surveying the empty room. The fireplace had died out hours ago, and she suddenly felt so cold without the Doctor, although if you'd ask her why, she wouldn't be able to tell you.

"Doctor?" she called.

Nothing. With a sigh, she moved to step out of the library and go take a shower, but she ran into Jack on her way out.

"Rosie! 'morning, sweetheart. Been looking for you."

He looked a little worse for wear, still in the same clothes from the night before, but he also looked very, very happy. Rose couldn't help but smile at him without even knowing the reasons behind his sudden good mood, but she suspected that it may have had something to do with the man she remembered from the bar. Her mind was too hazy to supply her with the man's name, but she did remember that Jack seemed to like him a great deal.

"Hi Jack," she said softly. "Did you have a good night?"

"Oh, it was amazing. Brilliant. Listen, the Doctor told me to check on you," he said distractedly, leading her out of the library.

"How d'you mean? Where's he?" she asked with sudden alarm.

"He said he had to pop in for an audience with the Mayor of New New Jersey," Jack explained, kicking the door to the galley open. "So he'd be gone for a bit, but then we're good to go."

"Why didn't he bring us? Or at least wake me? What time is it?"

Jack handed her a cup of coffee and she smiled at her friend with gratitude. The headache wasn't getting any better now that she knew she'd likely not see the Doctor for a couple hours. Nervousness worked its way into her heart, making her question whether he was fine with all the stolen looks and everything else from last night.

The Time Agent pointed at one of the clocks in the galley, telling Rose that it was well past 1 PM _her time_ \- the Doctor adjusted the TARDIS clocks to match Rose's habits - and that she should've been awake since a few hours back.

"Probably thought you looked too sweet in your sleep, Princess."

"Very funny," she said with a chuckle. She couldn't shake off the feeling of wanting to see the Doctor, needing some sort of confirmation, even if they hadn't done anything _that_ special last night, least not as far as she was aware. Still, if she somehow pushed the borders between friendship and _something else_ , she knew he'd retreat faster than if she'd been chasing him down with a truckload of pears. Not interested, Rose. Remember that.

She shook her head slightly and decided to distract herself by interrogating her friend about... Ianto. That's right, Ianto was his name.

"So, how'd it go with Ianto? Get a lot of _exploring_ done, did you?" she joked.

"Ooh, plenty of it," Jack said with a dreamy expression. "Ianto is... Well, I like him. I actually like him, you know? I mean, I like all sorts of people, but this was different. It was great."

"Sounds like you'd wanna stick around."

"No," he replied hastily, "No, I love traveling with you guys. Couldn't give that up for anything, not even for the shag of the century."

"That's a compliment, I guess," Rose said with a giggle, feeling a little more relaxed.

"You bet it is," Jack agreed enthusiastically. "How about you, then? Get anywhere with our Time Lord?"

Rose looked down at her steaming cup of coffee and decided to pretend she didn't get what he meant, even though she knew more than well.

"What're you on about?"

"Not blind, Rose. I've been around. I can see the way you look at the man."

She looked up at Jack, finding him friendly but serious. She was at a loss for words. What to say? She hardly knew how she felt, it was all muddled thoughts and uncertainties, anxiety and tension all rolled into one. She just knew that the Doctor was in a category of his own, as far as she was concerned, somewhere apart from all the other blokes she thought were nice enough, but _not quite_. That didn't really have to mean anything, though. Rose liked to believe that it didn't mean a thing at all.

"Thought you two would get up to something if I left you alone for a night," Jack said in a voice that was borderline sullen, as if Rose and the Doctor managed to spoiled some great big plan of Jack's without even knowing about it.

"Jack," she scolded, "It's not like that. We're friends, the Doctor me. Really."

She briefly wondered if she wasn't trying to convince herself as much as her friend, because while for the Doctor's part that was all they were, for Rose it was a tad more complicated.

"Sure you are." He laughed and stood, picking up his empty cup and waiting for Rose to finish her coffee so that he could do the same with hers. "Take my advice and go for it, Rosie. He's an oddball, the Doctor, you gotta push him where you want him to go."

She shook her head and got up, facing Jack. Might as well say it.

"He doesn't want me like that," she muttered, her voice suddenly very small.

The man looked at her with concern. Jack was more in tune with human emotions than the Doctor was, so Rose wasn't surprised when he pulled her into a friendly hug. She wrapped her arms around him, breathing in the smell of his worn leather jacket, and relaxed against his frame. Okay, so Jack was a bit of a flirt, but most of all he was a good friend. Rose knew full well that she ought to appreciate that.

She didn't hear the footsteps, she only heard somebody barge in, calling _"I'M BAAACK!"_ from behind the doorframe before he entered the galley. The Doctor had returned a little bit early, and found her and Jack in a tight, friendly hug.

"Oh," he mumbled upon entering and taking in the sight before his eyes.

Rose moved away from Jack just as fast as he had pulled away from her. She had the Doctor's assumption from last night still fresh in her mind, and she sensed that this hug, however innocent, would do nothing to dispel his silly belief about the pair of them. Considering her own growing feelings for the Doctor, him having the wrong idea about her and Jack was not quite convenient, even if she knew nothing would ever come of her little fancy.

"Hello," the Doctor said. "The Mayor was indisposed, so we're good to go. Never been a fan of audiences and things. Best get going! I'll leave you two to it and go start up the TARDIS."

He was out of the door before either of them could react, but Rose wasn't going to leave it at that. She ran out after him and grabbed him by the hem of his suit jacket, pulling the Time Lord to a stop.

"Wait, Doctor, hold on a mo', will you?" she pleaded and he did, but he didn't turn around to face her, leaving her to guess.

"Are you feeling better today, Rose?" he asked quietly. She could almost see that his body was rigid with tension, and it was tension of such a different kind from the previous night that a cold chill ran down her spine, making her wish she could just embrace him and dispel those dumb ideas of his. Just b'cause. Just 'cause she didn't want him to think that she was...

... _Unavailable_? Yeah. Unfortunately.

"Yeah. Not sore at all. Th... Thank you."

"Good."

Hearing the strain in his voice made her heart clench. She spoke up reluctantly, "Look, I meant it last night, okay? Jack and I? Nothing. I promise. I mean, I know you don't care, but-"

He startled her by turning around and planting both of his hands on her shoulders in a quick, sudden movement. He towered above her without even being that much taller, his eyes once again dark, but in a different way from before.

For a moment there, she really didn't know what he'd do. But in the end, he'd done nothing at all, just stared at her for a moment as those invisible sparks of charged energy circled them, stubbornly stirring something within Rose's heart, all the way down to the pit of her stomach.

"I care," he said, pulling her heart to a sudden stop. "About you. That's why I asked. I'm happy if you're happy, Rose. Of course I'm happy."

Before she could even utter a word in response, he shot her a heart-wrenching look and strode off towards the console room. And then, before she could even begin to compose herself, the TARDIS took off and she had to hold on for dear life, because the Doctor seemed to be rather reckless that day.

She was being reckless too, she realized. She was being reckless with the one thing she'd hate to have broken.

She should know better than to give her heart away to a man that already had two of his own.

* * *

 **A/N:** A looong delay, I know. I found a new job and suddenly my writing time had been reduced to next to zero... But I'm trying, and I won't abandon the story, I just can't promise a regular weekly posting schedule, but I'm also convinced it won't take that long for the next chapter to be posted. Thank you for being so lovely and so supportive. Please let me know if you enjoy this, there's no better motivation for writing :)


	12. Stolen Bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaving the Doctor alone with Rose leads to unexpected results.

_"I care," he said, pulling her heart to a sudden stop. "About you. That's why I asked. I'm happy if you're happy, Rose. Of course I'm happy."_

_Before she could even utter a word in response, he shot her a heart-wrenching look and strode off towards the console room. And then, before she could even begin to compose herself, the TARDIS took off and she had to hold on for dear life, because the Doctor seemed to be rather reckless that day._

_She was being reckless too, she realized. She was being reckless with the one thing she'd hate to have broken._

_She should know better than to give her heart away to a man that already had two of his own._

* * *

Slender fingers absentmindedly flipped through the glossy pages of a magazine before putting it away with a sigh. Her eyes went down to her fingernails, inspecting the slightly chipped red nail polish without interest... And then she sighed again.

He hadn't even noticed when exactly he stopped tinkering and started out-right staring. He must've been too engrossed in watching Rose; yup, that must be it, because the Doctor had a big, magnificent brain and he most certainly knew how to multitask when he wanted to. Well, apparently today was not one of those days, because he'd let the metallic contraption fall idly into his lap, while he observed his friend out of the corner of his eye, noting all the little things that a person who didn't know her as well as he did would likely miss.

Actually _interpreting_ the signs though, that was another thing...

They've had more time to themselves during the past few weeks, since Jack had been spending a considerable amount of time on New New Earth visiting Ianto, and while they could've just gone forward in time until those visits were over, they always chose to travel in between instead, just the two of them. The Doctor made sure that their trips were entertaining, breathtaking even, and they really _were_. He took her to all the best places the universe had to offer and the wonder in her deep brown eyes was more than enough to make him want to steal her away to yet another place the moment they stepped back into the TARDIS. At the same time, he valued the quiet evenings spent in the library... Except when Rose seemed off, just like she did right then.

He kept a close eye on her, and an even closer eye on Jack. The so called _Captain_ remained close to Rose when on board, rarely failing to make her laugh, and the Doctor wasn't oblivious enough to not realize that it was jealousy he felt when he was forced to watch Rose giggle at Jack's mindless antics. What? So maybe he wanted to be more _fun_ than Captain Harkness. Nothing wrong with that! He wasn't used to not being the best at everything, you know. Nothing unusual there. Just slightly disconcerting! Aaanyway, back on track; he kept a close eye on the pair of them, but no matter Rose's feelings, Jack still ran off to Ianto once every couple of days, and the Doctor couldn't discern what Rose truly thought of it.

On the surface, she seemed alright, and just months ago he'd probably be satisfied with that finding. But in those months spent with Rose Tyler, he'd learnt a lot more about humans and the way they dealt with trouble... Or, to be more precise, he'd learnt a lot more about _Rose_. She was an object of constant study and he was a very eager student, soaking up every little change in her expression and storing it away in that brilliant mind of his. As a reminder, if nothing else.

He _did_ think about her a whole lot, after all...

With such a collection of the many ways she smiled, frowned and played with her hair, he should've had an easy time finding out if she truly felt heartbroken about Jack. However, his research proved unsatisfactory, and when staring at her as she sat there in silence, he couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't feeling hurt about their mutual friend waltzing off into the sunset with Ianto.

He finally broke the lingering silence, albeit reluctantly. He wasn't sure what to really say.

"Rose?"

She looked up as if distracted from some sort of a daze and responded, "Yeah?"

"You alright?" he asked carefully, looking at her with unabashed concern and interest.

Rose sighed and looked down for a moment, but then finally met his eyes. His hearts most certainly did _not_ skip a beat at that. Nope. Not a chance.

"Yeah, 'm fine. Jus' thinking."

Oh, he knew that _thinking_ could mean a whole world of bad when it came to Rose; after all, you don't engage in _just thinking_ unless there's something you really need to think about, do you? So, long story short, something had to be wrong. He'd bet it was that bastard Jack. Rose could hide it all she liked, but the Doctor still knew better. He wasn't blind, definitely not, he was most perceptive, Time Lord and all, and he _knew_.

If only she'd look at _him_ instead of-

He held that thought before it made him flush and then hastily said, "Oh. Is that, err, entertaining enough for you?"

"It'll do, I guess," she muttered and fell silent for an instant. "I've been thinkin' about Jack and Ianto..."

Breath hitched in his throat at her admittance, because once again, it was Jack her thoughts revolved around. Never him. Never the Doctor.

He composed himself just enough to mutter a faintly interested _'Oh?'_ , which, apparently, was enough encouragement to Rose, because she picked up where she left off.

"Yeah. I think it's getting serious between 'em, Doctor. I mean... I think Jack would really... I dunno, I think he'd rather stay there, y'know. With him."

The Doctor forced his gaze to remain locked on hers, even though he wished to look the other way. He _had_ to look and see just how hurt she was - just how much he'd have to punish Jack for hurting his Rose - but he couldn't find a trace of hurt in the way she worried her lip, only a strange sort of distraction.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Jack's not really the type to, err, _restrain_ himself. Actually, he's quite the... Quite the opposite, yup." He shuddered at the memory of the man coming on to him, _numerous times_ , but deep down he'd warmed up to Jack enough to be able to laugh at his flirtations... if not for the fact that clearly, through his flippant nature, the man managed to break Rose's heart. That was the one offence the Doctor could never forgive.

Rose chuckled softly. "No, you're right, he's not," she agreed, "But I think Ianto's got him hooked."

"I don't think... I think he'd..." The Doctor struggled to find the right words to cheer her up. "He wouldn't just leave you like that, Rose. He _can't_ ," he growled, expression stormy and reserved.

The look of surprise on her face didn't go amiss, but no matter the reason, he felt pleased with himself, because she started giggling. As long as Rose felt better, nothing else truly mattered, did it?

"Are you still on about that? Seriously? Doctor, you really need to stop that. I don't _like_ Jack. I mean, not that way. Honest."

"Then what..." he mumbled, not knowing how to finish that sentence. He didn't believe her; he wouldn't be swayed by her bravery, he knew better than that.

Unfortunately.

"I'm happy for him. Really, I am. I'm just thinkin'... I mean... It's gotta be nice. To, you know. Have someone."

Well, the conversation took an unexpected turn. A flash of images ran through his mind; images of what humans referred to as _having someone_ , only his brain supplied him with visions of Rose and himself rather than some picture perfect couple from one of those daft romances Rose always felt inclined to watch.

He shook his head ever so slightly. It seemed that the lack of sleep was finally beginning to catch up to him; rest averted him as of late, rarely allowing him to fall asleep.

"You've got plenty of people, don't you?"

"Yeah, but not like that. I mean, I've had Jimmy and then Mickey, but it wasn't... Y'know. It wasn't like this whole... Fairytale thing."

He observed her with interest. She rarely spoke of her ex-boyfriends and he rarely brought it up, but he found himself harboring a foolish wish to know more. Selfishly, hearing that _it wasn't all that_ brought him pleasure he could hardly even begin to understand.

"Not that I want something like that," she went on without any further prompt. "I jus' want someone who gets me. Someone who'll put up with me and... I dunno, really want _me_. Not just to be with somebody... To be with _me_. D'you know what I mean?"

 _Could be me,_ he thought before he could stop himself.

"Not really," he lied with a grin, but then added, "But I don't see why you wouldn't find that, Rose. You're a rather charming person! And that's coming from _me_. I'm quite the charmer myself, don't you think? So, take it from me. You'll have anything you'll set your mind on. And I know you lot say that aaaall the time and never really mean it, but I'm a Time Lord. Time Lords don't lie! Weeell, not often. Not in this case. Definitely not."

He winked and she chuckled, seriousness all but gone from her features, aside from her eyes, which still watched him intently... Until she blinked, and the spell they'd been under was gone.

Not for the Doctor, though; he realized that quite clearly when his hearts just wouldn't settle, apart from the moments where she looked his way. At those times, his hearts would stutter like a broken record, a constant reminder that he was going through something he didn't know how to deal with. He didn't even know what it was, not really, but he could hardly pretend that it was nothing anymore.

And it had a lot to do with Rose. It had _everything_ to do with Rose.

"What 'bout you, then?" she asked, startling him out of his distracted thoughts.

"Me? I just said! I'm quite the charmer, don't you think? Could use a little muscle, but the hair-the hair's pretty nice, I think. And I've been practicing back-combing; it's a very good technique, Rose, you should try-"

"No, I mean, having someone, y'know. You keep saying you're like a thousand years old, that's a bit past the marrying age, yeah?"

 _Oh_. It dawned on him that she was relating to the previous subject, the whole _having someone_ thing. And that one question sent his memories into overdrive, bringing him a flash of images from his home, from his childhood and the many years that followed. Silver trees and an orange sky that dipped into gold, adorned by twin suns...

Time was a different concept for Time Lords than it was for humans, obviously. Rose and others of her kind had a very short, limited lifespan, whereas he'd likely live for thousands of years, and some of the other representatives of his race lived much longer, due to the fact that not one of them was quite as adventurous as the Doctor.

Or rather, they _would_ have lived much longer, if not for the War...

His eyes drifted down to the carpet. He didn't mean to avoid her question, having nothing to hide in _that_ department, but the weight of his solitude always weighed on his shoulders, like a heavy rock dragging him into the water, his whole body submerged, no relief for his lungs, no hope of ever breathing fresh, unpolluted air again; free of guilt and all those memories, nightmares and flashbacks.

No, he'd never be rid of those, but at the same time, Rose was as close to a cure as he could ever hope to get.

"'m sorry, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to," she clarified hurriedly when he remained silent for a tad too long. "I was jus', you know, curious I guess... I mean, if you've lived a thousand years, you must've had a wife? Kids? Grandkids? Grand-grand-grand-grand-grand kids?" She smiled teasingly, and if there was a hint of uncertainty to her smile, he didn't dwell on that.

He shrugged off the persistent memories and threw away the contraption that still rested in his lap, then left his arm chair in favor of flopping down on the couch next to her. She shot him a surprised glance, but soon relaxed when he sprawled his arms across the back of the sofa, one hand just barely brushing her shoulder.

He'd move away if she showed any indication of wanting him to, but she didn't, so he remained, fingers tingling from something so small as a feather light touch; the pure sensation of skin on skin, no matter how insignificant, still never failed to surprise him.

"I actually haven't," he muttered after a brief reprieve, looking at the fireplace instead of at Rose, but still allowing his fingers to lightly tread across her bared skin without even taking conscious note of the action. "Told you I was a bit of a loner, didn't I? 'sides, a thousand years old is still very young for a Time Lord, Rose! I'm not an old man, you know, not for my standards. You, on the other hand, are basically an infant! Tiny little mewling thing, that'd be you. We ought to get you a dummy!" He chuckled at the thought.

She looked up to meet his eyes and bit down on her lip. He didn't even realize when instead of running tiny little circles across her arm, he pulled her in for a hug, so close that she was now pressed against him on the sofa. He wasn't planning on that, 'course not! It just sort of happened. Tends to happen quite a lot when it comes to Rose, actually. Well, maybe not _a lot_. He still had nothing on Jack when it came to being... _free_ with Rose. He wouldn't embrace her like that in company, but he could hardly hold himself back at times, when it was just the two of them and nobody else around.

It was quite disconcerting how her presence alone was enough to make him do things without noticing it. How the mere sight of her could make him stop thinking and start acting in a way he normally never would.

She broke yet another of their - by now quite familiar - intense moments and a playful gleam snuck into her lively brown eyes.

"Don't need one. Already got you," she chided, poking him in the chest with a wide grin.

"Oh, is that right?" he asked with slightly exaggerated interest. "I wasn't aware of that. Pretty sure no one's _got_ me, Rose. Think you got a couple of things wrong there, but what can you do, I understand! Really, I do. Human and all, can't expect you to keep up with a Time Lord."

"Say what you want," Rose murmured, "But I've got you wrapped around my finger, Doctor, 's how it is."

He looked to the side and downwards, meeting her gaze as she stared at him with a smirk. If he wasn't so reluctant to use such words, he'd likely describe their current position as _cuddling_ , but friends don't cuddle, no they don't, and Time Lords don't cuddle, _definitely_ not.

Suddenly, for some strange reason, he forgot that she was kidding and he dove right into those mesmerizing eyes of hers and his heartbeats raced against one another in a strange, feverish fervor and...

And...

And his face was mere inches away from hers, but she was seemingly unmoved by that, although visibly content with the current state of their affairs all the same. The Doctor wasn't good enough at human interaction to be able to tell if she was pulling his leg or being serious, but he also wasn't oblivious enough not to recognize that for some people, all of this would've been considered _flirting_. Not that she'd ever flirt with him, 'course not, that's plain ridiculous! Absolutely, completely, entirely nonsensical, yes, tota-

He reflexively pulled her even closer, her body pressed flush against his, and the fact that she relaxed against him, as if melding into the embrace, took him by surprise. It's not like they usually did this! And why they were hugging that day of all days was beyond the Doctor's knowledge, which may have been vast when it came to science, but faltered slightly when it came to the emotional side of things. Slightly. Oooonly a little tiny bit. Just a tad.

Emotions... That this was related to emotions, he had no doubt. Because it was pure feeling that swelled inside his chest in response to their proximity, the way she smiled with pure trust, teased him and even mocked him; it was friendship, that's what it was, but even a loner like him would know that friends didn't exactly feel _that_ way when sharing an embrace, however intimate it might be.

He shouldn't look at her like that, as if she was the most... The most _fascinating_ creature on the planet, and he shouldn't desperately search for a second meaning behind her innocent jesting, but he did.

He did.

Not once before, but now...

A wave of unrestrained _want_ washed over him and his conscious thoughts slipped, letting go of the voice of his reason and clinging to something entirely different. He'd been holding it at bay for too long, and it's not like it's easy to keep these things to yourself. He wouldn't have known before, but ever since he met Rose, he became painfully aware of the fact that not all of your feelings can be concealed, sealed, shipped away and forgotten.

On a wild impulse, he chose to stop thinking and start acting, and everything from then on happened rather... _quickly_.

"Is that so? Who said that, if I may ask? I think I've got a few things to clear up with them. Were they from the planet Amargo by any chance? Everybody that lives there is a liar, Rose, don't trust them! Weeell, not unless they bring a peace offering, and let me tell you, those are rather, err, peculiar... Usually a piece of their very own ear. Imagine that, cutting off your ear to prove you're being honest! Now that, _that_ is dedication."

" _I_ said that," she responded with a giggle, although the way her eyes grew darker did not slip his attention.

"Really?" he challenged.

"Really."

"So you've got both me _and_ Jack? That's a bit unfair, Rose."

She exposed her teeth in a smile that was borderline sultry, and if the Doctor wasn't concerned about preserving his dignity, he'd likely be gasping for breath at the sight. Rose was... Well, she was quite alluring and she was... She was so _close_...

He had to remind himself that no matter what she said, she most probably liked _Jack_ , not him, and also that it's not wise to get attached, it's actually very stupid, because he-

"No, I'm good. Don't want Jack. Ianto's got Jack, Doctor. Stop trying to set me up with him," she muttered patiently with a smile, her head tucked somewhere in the crook of his neck, resting on his shoulder. She seemed comfortable with him, as he was with her, but at the same time the endless charged energy that flew back and forth between the two of them was close to driving him mad. It was as if he was programmed to pull her closer, to want more, even where he knew he shouldn't.

Knowing and doing the right thing are two different subjects, however...

"You don't?" he asked yet again, the silent _want Jack_ lingering in the air between them.

He was looking down to meet her eyes, she - looking up to meet his, and as if constantly pulled by an invisible magnet, he had to fight off the urge to lean in and bring their faces even closer. It'd be very, very unwise to do so, and he was the Doctor, he didn't do unwise things, at least not things that could leave him a messy heap of pain one day, and-

"I don't," Rose murmured in reply, eyes boring into his.

This wasn't _cuddling_ anymore, and the Doctor wasn't sure what it was, only that he couldn't seem to put an end to it now.

"Oh."

"How about-" she started, but then held back, dropping her gaze back down to her lap, fidgeting nervously in his tight embrace.

"How about what?" he urged her, way past the point of being able to turn back.

"'s nothing," Rose mumbled, pulling away from him ever so slightly.

Remember how he said he chose to stop thinking and start acting? Weeell, by now, he could do nothing else than act. And when he acted, it was on instinct.

His fingers reached out to tilt her head back towards him, thumb slowly caressing her cheek as he did so. He could feel the temperature of her skin rising rapidly at the touch, and he longed - he _longed_ \- he needed - he...

He...

"How about what, Rose?" he repeated insistently, voice low and the slightest bit husky, finally catching her gaze with his, two pairs of brown eyes connecting; his dark, glazed, hers much the same.

She sighed before speaking, now seemingly unable to relax into his, so very unusual, touch. "I was gonna say..."

"Say...?" he prompted impatiently. He didn't know why he was being so set on hearing whatever she was holding back. He didn't know why he ended up so close to her.

He didn't know why his hearts were almost beating their way out of his rib cage at having Rose this close.

He only knew that he'd never felt that way before, and however wrong it may have been, he could no longer say no. Not unless she did.

It wasn't right, he knew, but this magnetic pull he experienced from that very first day in the lift, he couldn't comprehend it, couldn't fight it, he just _couldn't_ -

"How 'bout you, then?" she finally asked. "D'you... You know... Want... Anybody?"

His breath had been stolen away from him with that one question; the fingers on her face stilled, as he didn't dare to move even an inch, instead choosing to simply look at her.

Rose Tyler. Blonde hair, brown eyes, one of the widest, most sincere smiles he'd ever seen. Not too tall and not too short, quite feisty, extremely caring, stubborn, so very human. Rearranged his whole life, she did. Nine hundred years of living and only two events truly shook him to the core. Losing everything he had and finding something new to become his _everything_ in its place.

Or rather, _someone_ new.

Rose...

"Maybe I do," he whispered, and there was no way back.

Rose's eyes widened at his admission, and in the looming silence around them, he heard her heart skip a beat, a single, lonely beat. Rassilon knows his own two hearts were running wild at the time, impossible to stop, impossible to hold back.

Because he _did_ want her. Rassilon, he wanted her more than anything else in all the universes. Not just now. No, from the start. From day one. And he knew, oh, he knew, he-

Seconds later, Rose pulled him down by the neck and his lips crashed onto hers, joining them in a kiss that should've never had an end.

It was tentative at first, a question, a greeting, but quickly deepened into something they both had no control over. Rose's lips were soft against his, soft and intoxicating, and it only took him a second to start kissing her back, a few more seconds to allow his tongue to slip past the zip of her mouth, relishing the little sound she made at the back of her throat at this newly discovered caress. Their hurried breaths mixed, hers warm on his skin, as they refused to put a definite end to the kiss, exploring each other's mouths in a frantic daze.

He was all senses, all touch and smell and taste and a little bit of sight, because he pulled away for a brief second to look at her, see her swollen, red lips and eyes glazed with what his distracted brain could only identify as a mirror of his very own desire, and then she, she came up to his lap, straddling him, and her whole body was pressed flush against his, and on instinct his arms went around to embrace her, pull her even closer, as her fingers were tangled in his hair, pulling at the messy strands, and-

And it was all the energy he'd felt from the very start, only so much more intense, and he couldn't stop, not now, not ever, not-

"Doc! Rose! I'm home!"

At first, the Doctor didn't recognize the sound; he paid no mind to it actually, too focused on Rose and that thing she was doing with her tongue, but then the fog that encompassed his brain cleared slightly, reminding him that yes, he _did_ park the TARDIS in an alley on New New Earth, knowing that they'd be picking Jack up the next day, and they decided to just spend the night there.

It was by far the worst decision ever made. Weeeell, perhaps not quite _the_ worst, but it was up there with all the other bad decisions in his life.

Both Rose and the Doctor were left panting for breath, foreheads pressed against one another, eyes locked. He could see the questions in her eyes, and he wanted to answer - truly, he did - but now that they were both becoming coherent again, he felt fear creep inside his thoughts, slowly but surely, as he held her in his arms, whole body tingling with pleasure from what just transpired between them.

At long last. He wanted this for a long time, he knew.

But was he _right_ to want it? Was he allowed to? No, absolutely not! This was a - this was _wrong,_ and-

Rose must've spotted the change in his eyes, because she leaned in to give him a soothing kiss, but he didn't reciprocate, too aware of the fact that they were no longer alone.

"It's Jack," he mumbled awkwardly.

"Just lock the door," she whispered, not even bothering to hide the plea in her voice.

Rassilon, he wanted to. To stop thinking again and just act.

He wanted to, but he couldn't bring himself to, not now when they were no longer alone, when this stolen moment of bliss would've had to be shared with somebody else.

Not now, when it dawned on him that he wasn't supposed to be doing any of this in the first place. Why would he, the man who'd done more wrong than good in his life, deserve someone so pure, someone so beautiful as Rose? She deserved better, one of her kind, someone who'd give her the whole deal, a family, a home, a future, not him, not a Time Lord, not-

"Doctor..." Rose begged quietly; he saw it in her eyes, the way she asked him to stay, to not let go of this, not distance himself right now, but he couldn't. He shook his head slightly and watched the way her heart broke, all through her eyes.

He hated himself at that moment more than ever before.

"I brought a guest!" Jack called right outside the door, and Rose hurried off the Doctor's lap, a hurt look on her face, rushing to conceal whatever just happened between the two of them.

When the door to the library was flung open fifteen seconds later, Rose and the Doctor both sat at the opposite ends of the sofa, slightly disheveled and flushed. The Doctor mentally ordered the TARDIS to turn down the lights in order to hide their questionable appearance, but he knew that a keen eye would still spot Rose's pink cheeks, the two buttons of his shirt that mysteriously went missing, and the way they refused to look at one another.

"Hey Doc, hey Rosie," Jack beamed as he stepped inside. "Look whom I brought."

The Doctor expected to see Ianto; wouldn't be the first time, but no, the person that followed Jack was a human female. She had long, blonde hair reaching past her waist, a figure that was curved in all the right places, and modern clothing that did very little to hide it.

The Doctor's eyes opened up wide, the sight of the visitor finally shaking him out of the daze he'd been in ever since Rose's lips touched his.

He knew that woman. Her name was Jeanne-Antoinette.

To her friends, she was known as Reinette.

**~oOo~**

The Doctor had seen his fair share of the universe. He knew that it was unpredictable, filled with chance meetings, sudden goodbyes and unexpected reunions. But to meet the same person twice, in the whole wide universe, without planning on it? No, that rarely ever happened. Especially if you'd consider that you'd been trying to avoid meeting said person for quite some time.

The odds were that he'd never see Reinette again, but he should have known better than to trust them.

There she was, standing next to Jack, but she only had eyes for the Doctor; ice blue eyes that regarded him as though he was a trophy to be achieved. That, apparently, hadn't changed in the last four years.

She was still young, not yet thirty, and she looked good no matter which way you spin it. But the Doctor remembered - he never forgot - and because of that, he remained wary.

"Hello, Doctor," Reinette said in a smooth, feminine voice, completely ignoring Rose.

"Hello to you too," Rose muttered, seemingly too upset to even look at the newcomers.

The Doctor noticed how Jack's eyes immediately went towards Rose, how concerned he looked for her well-being, and that told him that she must've looked very downcast. For his own part, he did not dare to take another look at his... His... Not really a friend anymore, was she? After that, that-that thing there-not a friend, no, not so much, not quite a friend, but... Well.

But that wasn't the right time to ponder any of it, not the right time to drown in such fresh memories, because there was nothing he could do about it at the time. Not with others around. This was strictly between him and Rose.

Then again, if they never showed up, would he have been able to stop? No, likely not. Even now he felt something attempt to draw him closer to her. He wanted to erase the pain in her eyes that spoke of feeling rejected, because he'd never _reject_ her, but he shouldn't-he _couldn't_ -he simply didn't deserve her, and-

If he was to stop himself from kicking the Jack and their unwelcome visitor out and apologizing to Rose profusely, he had to act fast. He willed his body, still so dazed from the kiss of a lifetime, out of the sofa and plastered on a fake smile to cover his dashed hopes and disappointed dreams, not to mention the knowledge that _he_ alone was the one to destroy the happiest moment he's had in centuries, even though Rose begged him not to.

He was a fool, such a fool. Nearly a thousand years and he was still-

He groaned inwardly and spoke up. "Well well, if this isn't a surprise! How'd you two come about, then? Not so surprised about Jack, 'course not, but you, Reinette?"

"I like to keep you on your toes," the woman responded with a suggestive smile.

"Hold on, you two know each other?" Rose asked from the sofa, and although the Doctor did not look at her, he heard her get up and join him at his side.

"I met Reinette out on the town with Ianto," Jack explained, "And we got talking, and she said she'd love to see you again, Doc. Apparently you two have _quite_ the history." He winked at the Doctor.

He shot Jack a glare, because this _really_ wasn't the right time for making such suggestions. Rose's eyes drifted towards him and he had to force himself not to look back, in fear of just pulling her into another kiss and explaining everything.

His lips still tingled from the soft caress, he could still taste her on his tongue...

 _No_ , Doctor. Just no. Not now.

"Not really," the Doctor dismissed Jack. "But we _do_ know each other! At least a little bit."

He offered the woman a smile as casual as he could muster, but underneath that exterior, his emotions were brewing. He remembered; oh, he remembered all too well, of course he did, he rarely forgave and never forgot, and Reinette Poisson was not an exception to that rule.

"I live here now," Reinette said with a secretive smile. "All thanks to you, my Doctor. When I had the good fortune of meeting your friend last night, I knew I had to see you again. It has been much too long."

Her voice was polite and even, as if she was reading a script, and the Doctor gritted his teeth at the mere sound of it. Always one step ahead; everything rehearsed ahead of time, _that_ was Jeanne-Antoinette, and the Doctor was more of a supporter of spontaneity than various scheming.

"Yes, well, it's great to see you, but I think we're about to head off, isn't that right, _Jack_?" He shot the man a glare that was met with a look of surprise. Clearly, the Captain didn't expect to upset his friend by bringing a beautiful blonde along.

"Actually, I wanted to say somethi-" Jack tried, only to be interrupted.

"Oh, don't you always want to say something! Humans, doing nothing but babbling your heads off, that's what you do! Rose, d'you mind starting up the engines? Jack, help her out. I'll be there in a jiffy, just going to see our guest out."

He didn't actually look at Rose while speaking; his eyes remained fixed on Reinette, shooting daggers at the woman. He couldn't afford turning to face Rose at the time, but he still felt her gaze burning his skin, heard the silent questions she wasn't going to ask while they were in company, and it all felt so _wrong_. It was wrong of him to kiss her, and it was wrong of him to stop. It was wrong of him not to tell her, and it'll be wrong of him when he doesn't let her know his feelings, because he won't, he can't, he _shouldn't_.

"Yeah, I... Um, yeah, alright," Rose muttered, "C'mon, Jack. You know that I dunno how to work that thing."

Both of his hearts sank at the sullen tone of his best friend's voice, but before he had the time to turn around and lose all of his control, he heard shifting and the quiet sound of the door being closed behind his two companions, leaving him and Reinette on their own.

The Doctor gave up any act of politeness now that they were left alone, allowing his rising anger to show through his eyes. The Oncoming Storm, they called him, and a person who had failed him as badly as she did deserved nothing less than the very essence of that look.

"How nice of you to dispose of them so that we could have some privacy, my Doctor," she said cheerfully, stepping closer to him; much, much too close. He remained rigid as her fingers took hold of his tie and started playing with it. "Didn't you miss me?"

"As a matter of fact, nope. Not really. Rather the opposite, I'm afraid," he responded coldly before finally snapping and grabbing her wrist to put an end to her ministrations. His grip was strong, perhaps too much so; strong enough to bruise, but he didn't care in the least.

"Liar," Reinette muttered, unbothered. "I'm sure you never forgot me, my lonely angel."

"You see, you're quite right," he responded before giving her a slight push, freeing himself from her grasp. "But not in the way you think."

"Oh, let it go already! I had no choice. I wanted something better. Isn't that what you always say? _Don't give up on your dreams?_ "

"People _died_ because of your _dreams_ , Reinette!" the Doctor growled, running his fingers through his hair in a nervous gesture, storm brewing in his dark brown eyes as they remained locked on hers.

"Perhaps that was their fate."

"Fate doesn't exist!" He didn't even realize when his voice slipped from anger to plain shouting. He never forgave and never forgot, not in her case, but he didn't think of it for the past years, tried not to ponder all the things he did wrong because of this woman... But now they all came crashing down on him, stifling the fresh memory of bliss with Rose, covering it with all these ugly scars from the past, reminders of all of the various mistakes he'd made along the way.

"But it does," she said sternly, "I just happen to make mine."

"I think you've gone and made whatever it was that you wanted," he muttered in response, suddenly feeling weary, heavy under the weight of both the past and the present. "So it'd be best if you leave."

In a flash, she was right in front of him again, pulling him down by the lapels to look him closely in the eyes.

The Doctor was never violent, but it took all of his patience not to shove her away.

"It was no coincidence that I _ran_ into that half-wit friend of yours, my Doctor," Reinette whispered. "I have been looking for you. You need to remedy something I was unfortunate enough to lose."

"I am not helping you again." It was a statement, strong and bold, but Reinette remained unwavering.

"Are you sure?"

"Ye-"

At that point, her fingers lightly brushed his temple, just for a second, but long enough to plant an image inside his mind. Reinette, despite being human, was a telepath just like he was, even if on a much smaller scale. Her abilities allowed her to hold wordless conversations and she often used them to her advantage during their previous encounter years ago.

What came first were flashbacks from the past. He'd met Reinette and thought she was just as innocent as she looked.

Thinking so was the first of his many mistakes, and the moment he attempted to save her was a moment he'd always regret.

She didn't dwell on what already was, though, and chose to show him what would happen if he did not bend to her will. What he saw momentarily made his hearts sink, only to fill up to the brim with white hot rage.

She showed him one of the buildings in New New Jersey, the Mayor's quarters in fact, and took him on a little tour all along the little nooks and cupboards where she must have hidden explosives, each of them with a ticking clock attached, mercilessly counting down time. By the looks of it, there was barely twenty minutes left on each timer.

"You wouldn't," he growled.

"Do you want to take that risk?" she asked with a smirk.

He remained silent, weighing the options inside his mind. He could pretend to go along with her plan and make sure everyone was alright, then try and serve some justice to the woman who did not have a single thought that didn't revolve around her own well being. He could deny her his help and endanger all these people, but then, he was fast; he may have a chance to save them, he didn't want to help her, not again, not ever-

Yet another pair of fingers brushed his finger to disrupt his indecisiveness, bringing him an image that shook him to the core.

Rose, cold and without breath, laying disfigured on the hard floor of the console room. His Rose, his whole universe...

_Rose!_

He scoffed, if only to conceal his fear. Irrational, of course. Rose was perfectly safe on the TARDIS, and no matter what he'd end up doing, he would make sure that she'd remain unharmed. He'd take her home if he had to, out of this timeline and out of Reinette's reach.

"You see, that might've worked, but only if you'd disregard the fact that my good old ship, my good old TARDIS, happens to be one of the safest places in the universe! Overlooked that, did you?"

She did nothing but smile at that, and then yet another image ran through his mind; the inside of Jack's pocket, in which yet another device ticked down the seconds. Tick, tock, tick, tock...

"I've come prepared," Reinette gloated.

His hearts stopped as he realized that not only Jack but also Rose, his Rose, was in real danger, and as always, it was his fault. His and nobody else's. He was the one that chose to let Reinette go when he'd last seen her, he was the one that allowed himself to be manipulated, and he was the one that just sent Rose away with Jack without making sure they'd both be safe.

As it was, their life rested in her hands now, and he could do nothing to change that; hands tied with fear that doing something rash would make her pull that trigger and...

No, he couldn't even think of that, couldn't allow such a thought. She'd be fine, they'd both be fine, whatever it took, he'd do it.

Reinette noted the change in his expression with satisfaction.

"I see you've changed your tune, my Doctor."

"What do you want?" he growled in response.

"First, we have to seal the deal. You help me out, I leave, everybody lives. Trust me, we will have a most splendid time."

She licked her lips as the Doctor scowled at her, mind racing with options, possibilities and all sorts of different outcomes, only one thought leading the way for them all: keeping Rose safe.

" _What_ do you want, Reinette?" the Doctor demanded.

"Do we have a deal, Doctor?" She shot him a confident smile, hands playing with the hair at the back of his neck, sending unpleasant chills down his spine.

He didn't want to say it, but for the time being, he'd just have to play along. Until he found the controller and made sure everybody would be safe, he had to let that despicable woman remain in control.

He forced himself to nod with a grave expression.

"Then we'll have to seal that deal properly," she said and before he knew it, the fingers at the back of his neck gripped him tight and pulled him down into a kiss he didn't want and didn't enjoy; in fact, it made his skin crawl.

He stood there motionless, not responding to the way the woman's lips moved against his, so different from just a short while ago when it was Rose he was kissing, when he wanted it, yearned for it with the entirety of his being. His mind was much too pre-occupied now, thinking up plans and just as he was about to break the unwanted kiss, something else took him by surprise.

The door to the library was flung open yet again.

"Doctor, we can't get the engine thing to work, d'you think you-"

He shoved Reinette away at the sound of that voice, his favorite voice in the whole universe, uncaring as to whether he'd hurt the blonde woman before him or not. He escaped the kiss as soon as he could and it only lasted half a minute to begin with, but he was not quick enough.

When he turned towards the door, he caught a glimpse of Rose. She seemed frozen, eyes darting between the pair of them, mouth slightly agape. Her brows shot up and her lip trembled, hurt so evident on her face that he'd have to be blind not to see it.

"Never mind, 's okay, you just... You just... Yeah."

She was gone in a flash, and he wanted to rush after her, to stop her, to explain, and most of all, to keep her safe.

"Rose!" the Doctor called after her, but she ignored him, and before he managed to escape the library, Reinette grabbed him by the wrist.

"No, Doctor," she said, "For the next few days, you're mine. And if you go after her now, you _will_ regret it."

He turned towards the woman, desperate to rush after Rose, filled with disgust at the sight of Reinette.

There was no good way out of this. Rose was in danger, thousands of people were, and he was the Doctor.

No matter how much it hurt, he'd have to focus on his task... On keeping everybody safe.

"What do you want, Reinette?" he growled again, devoid of all hope, filled with the memory of Rose's lips on his, now powered by the knowledge that he'd likely never get to feel that again, not after everything he'd done to her.

His Rose...

Reinette flashed her teeth in a smug smile.

"Come along and see," she said as she reached into her purse and produced a small device, then pressed the button located right in the middle of the round, hand watch-like contraption.

For a moment, everything was white, blinding, confusing and he closed his eyes to shelter them from the light.

When his lids flew open once again, he was thousands of miles away from the TARDIS, on the other side of New New Earth, in France.

Thousands of miles away from Rose, and even farther away from the happiness he thought he might have found.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm sooo sorry for the delay (again). I love writing this story, but my new job is DRAINING. As in, at the end of the day, my mind is so blank that I can't form a coherent sentence most of the time, let alone get (mildly) creative. :( This chapter is a product of many weekends, so I hope it's not too patchy and that you liked it. Too much drama or was it okay? Also, would you want the next chapter to be Doctor's PoV again or Rose's? Please let me know - your encouragement keeps me writing when I'd rather be staring at a wall or sleeping!

So, to clear up the confusion: yes, I changed the Doctor's back story a little, as in he was never a father in this story and was more of a loner than in the show. As for Reinette... This story needed an antagonist and who'd be better than the famous Girl in the Fireplace? :p I'm sorry to all the fans of Reinette (if any of you read Ten/Rose fanfiction). I don't hate her, but she seemed like the perfect choice. The back story will be explained in due time! ^_^

Thank you so much for being patient with me and for reviewing my stories - I'm sorry that I haven't been able to get back to you, and I promise to get better. I love you all! :D


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